Communication by a repeater system including a network of radio frequency repeater devices

ABSTRACT

A repeater system includes a first RF repeater device arranged in a first topology of a network of RF repeater devices, to communicate with one or more second RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices to service one or more source nodes and destination nodes in a first wireless network. The first RF repeater device detects a change in at least one of a network condition in the first wireless network, networks configuration, or traffic demand. Based on the detected change, the first RF repeater device is controlled to be assigned to at least one of the first wireless network, a second wireless network, or be shared between the first wireless network and the second wireless network, where the second wireless network is one of fully overlapping the first wireless network, partially overlapping the first wireless network, or is an adjacent cell of the first wireless network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This Patent Application makes reference to, claims priority to, claimsthe benefit of, and is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/487,032, filed Sep. 28, 2021, which makesreference to, claims priority to, and claims benefit from U.S. Pat. No.11,166,222, issued Nov. 2, 2021, which makes reference to, claimspriority to, and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/882,309, which was filed on Aug. 2, 2019, and further from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/914,664, which was filed on Oct. 14,2019.

Each of the above referenced Applications is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

Certain embodiments of the disclosure relate to wirelesstelecommunication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of thedisclosure relate to communication by a repeater system including anetwork of radio frequency (RF) repeater devices.

BACKGROUND

Wireless telecommunication in modern times has witnessed the advent ofvarious signal transmission techniques and methods, such as use of beamforming and beam steering techniques, for enhancing capacity of radiochannels. In accordance with such techniques, a transmitter radiatesradio waves in form of beams of radio frequency (RF) signals to avariety of RF receiver devices. The conventional systems which usetechniques such as beamforming and beam steering for signal transmissionmay have one or more limitations. For example, a beam of RF signalstransmitted by conventional systems, may be highly directional in natureand may be limited in transmission range or coverage.

In certain scenarios, an RF receiver device may be situated at adistance which is beyond transmission range of the transmitter, andhence reception of the RF signal at the RF receiver device may beadversely affected. In other scenarios one or more obstructions (such asbuildings and hills) in path of the RF beam transmitted by thetransmitter, may be blocking reception of the RF signal at the RFreceiver device. For the advanced high-performance communicationnetworks, such as the millimeter wave communication system, there isrequired a dynamic system that can overcome the one or more limitationsof conventional systems. Moreover, the number of end-user devices, suchas wireless sensors and loT devices are rapidly increasing with theincrease in smart homes, smart offices, enterprises, etc. Existingcommunication systems are unbale to handle such massive number ofwireless sensors and loT devices and their quality-of-service (QoS)requirements. In such cases, it is extremely difficult and technicallychallenging to support these end user devices in order to meet datacommunication in multi-gigabit data rate. Moreover, latency andunreliable data communication resulting in erroneous data recovery atthe destination node are other technical problem with existingcommunication systems and network architecture.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosureas set forth in the remainder of the present application with referenceto the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A repeater system and methods for communication by a repeater systemincluding a network of RF repeater devices, substantially as shown inand/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as setforth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentdisclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,will be more fully understood from the following description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system in a first configuration, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a network environment of the communication system with arepeater system in a second configuration, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 1C is a network environment of the communication system with arepeater system in a third configuration, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating various components of anexemplary RF repeater device of a repeater system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating various components of anexemplary network node, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, collectively, is a flowchart that illustrates amethod for high performance wireless communication, in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Certain embodiments of the disclosure may be found in a repeater systemand method for communication by a repeater system including a network ofRF repeater devices. The repeater system and method of the presentdisclosure not only improves data transfer rates between at least twonetwork nodes as compared to existing wireless communication systems(e.g. a wireless network or other wireless networks), but also enablesalmost near zero latency communication and an always-connectedexperience even in changing network conditions (and environmentconditions). The repeater system may deploy a network of RF repeaterdevices, which may be configured to perform distributed multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) operations, and enhance the wirelesscommunication capacity, coverage, and reliability between a sourcenetwork node and a destination network node, for high-performancewireless communication. In the following description, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which isshown, by way of illustration, various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1A is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system in a first configuration, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to FIG. 1A, thereis shown a communication system 100A that may include a repeater system102. The repeater system 102 may include a network of RF repeaterdevices, such as a first RF repeater device 104 and a second RF repeaterdevice 106, configured (i.e. networked) in a first topology (or in afirst configuration). In this embodiment, the first repeater device 104may include a first antenna array 104A and a second antenna array 104B.The second repeater device 106 may include a third antenna array 106Aand a fourth antenna array 106B. The communication system 100A mayfurther include a source node 108 (e.g. Node A) and one or moredestination nodes, such as a first destination node 110 (e.g. Node B)and a second destination node 112 (e.g. Node B′).

The repeater system 102 may include a network of RF repeater devices,such as the first RF repeater device 104 deployed at a first locationand the second RF repeater device 106 deployed at a second location.Each of the network of RF repeater devices, such as the first RFrepeater device 104 and the second RF repeater device 106, includessuitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured tocommunicate with the source node 108 (i.e. the Node A) and the one ormore destination nodes, such as the first destination node 110 (e.g.Node B) and the second destination node 112 (e.g. Node B′). The repeatersystem 102 enables data communication in a multi-gigabit data rate. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the repeater system 102 may supportmultiple and a wide range of frequency spectrum, for example, 2G, 3G,4G, and 5G (including out-of-band frequencies). Examples of the each ofthe network of RF repeater devices of the repeater system 102 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a 5G wireless access point, amultiprotocol wireless range extender device, an evolved-universalterrestrial radio access-new radio (NR) dual connectivity (EN-DC)device, a NR-enabled RF repeater device, a wireless local area network(WLAN)-enabled device, or a wireless personal area network(WPAN)-enabled device, a MIMO-capable RF repeater device, or acombination thereof.

The source node 108 includes suitable logic, circuitry, and interfacesthat may be configured to communicate with the one or more destinationnodes, such as the first destination node 110 (e.g. Node B) and thesecond destination node 112 (e.g. Node B′), via the network of RFrepeater devices configured in a first topology. Examples of the sourcenode 108 may include, but is not limited to, a base station (e.g. anEvolved Node B (eNB) or gNB), a small cell, a remote radio unit (RRU),or other network nodes or communication device provided in a wirelessnetwork.

Each of the first destination node 110 (e.g. Node B) and the seconddestination node 112 includes suitable logic, circuitry, and interfacesthat may be configured to communicate with the source node 108, via thenetwork of RF repeater devices in the first topology. Examples of thefirst destination node 110 and the second destination node 112 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a customer-premisesequipment (CPE), a wireless modem, a user equipment, a virtual realityheadset, an augment reality device, an in-vehicle device, a home router,a cable or satellite television set-top box, a VoIP base station, or anyother customized hardware for telecommunication.

In operation, the first RF repeater device 104 may be arranged in afirst topology of the network of RF repeater devices and is configuredto communicate with one or more second RF repeater devices (e.g. thesecond destination node 112) in the network of RF repeater devices toservice the source node 108 and the one or more destination nodes (e.g.the first destination node 110 and the second destination node 112) in awireless network (e.g. a 5G NR, a true 5G, or upcoming 6G network). Thefirst RF repeater device 104 is further configured to detect a change ina network condition in the wireless network between the source node 108and the one or more destination nodes (e.g. the first destination node110 and the second destination node 112).

In accordance with an embodiment, the change in the network condition inthe wireless network may be triggered by a plurality of events, such asa blockage of one or more communication links in the wireless network, amovement of the source node 108 or the one or more destination nodes, amovement of one or more RF repeater devices that are mobile in thenetwork of RF repeater devices, a change in the number of nodes (e.g.source and destination nodes), in the wireless network to be serviced,or a change in a demand (or requirements) for a throughput, aquality-of-service, or a quality-of-experience.

Moreover, based on the detected change in the network condition, thefirst RF repeater device 104 is further configured to control the one ormore second RF repeater devices (e.g. the second RF repeater device 106)in the network of repeater devices to re-configure the first topology ofthe network of repeater devices to a second topology. For example, inthis embodiment (as shown in FIG. 1A), the first repeater device 104 andthe second repeater device 106 (i.e. repeaters #1 and #2) may beconfigured to operate in a cascaded (multi-hope mode), where a singlebeam from the source node 108 (i.e. the node A) is utilized and thefirst destination node 110 and the second destination node 112 (i.e.nodes B and B′) are serviced by the same repeater node, such as thesecond RF repeater device 106 (repeater #2). Thus, in case of any changein the network condition (or environment condition), there-configuration may be executed. The re-configuration of the firsttopology of the network of RF repeater devices to the second topology isexecuted at least to continue to service the source node 108 and the oneor more destination nodes in the wireless network in the changed networkcondition. In an example, this re-configuration may be triggered byblockage of a link between the second RF repeater device 106 (i.e.repeater #2) and the second destination node 112 (i.e. node B) (shown inFIG. 1 B).

In accordance with an embodiment, the first repeater device 104 isfurther configured to modify a form of connectivity between the sourcenode 108 and the network of repeaters in the re-configuration of thefirst topology of the network of repeater devices to the secondtopology. For example, a cascaded multi-hop repeater configuration maybe dynamically (i.e. in real time or near real time or in some delaytime) re-configured to operate as single-hop repeater links. The firstrepeater system 102 may be further configured to change an allocation ofthe first RF repeater device 104 or the one or more second RF repeaterdevices (e.g. the second RF repeater device 106) to the one or moredestination nodes (e.g. the first destination node 110 and the seconddestination node 112) in the re-configuration of the first topology ofthe network of RF repeater devices to the second topology.Alternatively, the first RF repeater device 104 may be furtherconfigured to change an allocation of the first RF repeater device 104or the one or more second (other) RF repeater devices to the source node108 in the re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RFrepeater devices to the second topology. In another example, the firstRF repeater device 104 may be further configured to modify a number ofbeams allocated to the first RF repeater device 104, the one or moresecond RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices, thesource node 108, or the one or more destination nodes in there-configuration of the first topology of the network of RF repeaterdevices to the second topology. Alternatively stated, as a change intopology of network of repeaters, the following characteristics may bemodified: A) Form of connectivity between a given source node (e.g. thesource node 108) and a set of RF repeater devices (e.g. the network ofRF repeater devices); B) Assignment (allocation, association) of nodesto the RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices may bere-configured; or C) Number of beams/streams allocated torepeaters/nodes may be re-configured.

For the sake of brevity, the aforementioned implementations (andembodiments) are described with two repeaters in the repeater system102. However, it is to be understood by a person of ordinary skill inthe art that such implementations and embodiments can be extended tocover cases of N beams/streams transmitted out of source node 108 (i.e.node A), and N repeaters utilized in the network environment, and thefirst destination node 110 (i.e. node B) or the second destination node112, using P beams for receiving signals from the N repeaters.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the repeater system 102 maybe configured to use a plurality of phased antenna arrays, which may beconfigured to receive signals from a plurality of source devices(instead of one network node) and re-transmit the received signals to aplurality of destination devices. In a first example, the first RFrepeater device 104 may use a single antenna array, which may beconfigured to receive and transmit multiples beams and/or streamsthrough the same antenna array. In this case, the first RF repeaterdevice 104 may receive streams/beams from a plurality of source devices,concurrently, while re-transmitting those streams through a plurality ofbeams to the plurality of destination devices. In some embodiments, thefirst RF repeater device 104 may be configured to receive data streamsfrom a single source node (i.e. the source node 108), whilere-transmitting signals to multiple destination devices. In anotherembodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 may be configured toreceive streams S1 and S2 from multiple source devices (where thesestreams may contain the same information bits, or independentinformation bits) and re-transmit these streams to a single destinationdevice, such as the first destination node 110.

In another example, the first RF repeater device 104 may use differentphysical antenna arrays in order to receive and transmit beams/streams.Some antenna arrays may be used for transmitting data streams/beams,while other antenna arrays may be utilized for receiving datastreams/beams. The first RF repeater device 104 may be configured tooperate in: (1) a time-division duplex mode (TDD), where the first RFrepeater device 104 is configured to relay or repeat signals from thesource node 108 (i.e. node A) to first destination node 110 (i.e. nodeB) in T1 time interval, and the first RF repeater device 104 isreconfigured to relay or repeat signals from first destination node 110(i.e. node B) to source node 108 (i.e. node A) in T2 time interval. Thefirst RF repeater device 104 may be further configured to operate in: 2)a frequency-division duplex mode (FDD), where bi-directional links maybe concurrently operating in different frequency channels. The first RFrepeater device 104 may be further configured to operate in: 3) afull-duplex mode (FD), where a RF repeater device (such as the first RFrepeater device 104) may be configured to relay or repeat the signalsbetween the source node 108 (i.e. node A) and the first destination node110 (i.e. node B), concurrently, in both direction, irrespective ofpresence of signals or not.

In another example, for each link direction, the first RF repeaterdevice 104 may include the first antenna array 104A that is configuredto receive the first beam of RF signal from the source node 108 (i.e.node A), and the second antenna array 104B that is configured totransmit the first beam of RF signal carrying first data stream to thefirst destination node 110 (i.e. node B). In this case, the RF signalexchange between these two antenna arrays may be: 1) in original RFfrequency, where no frequency shift is applied to the signal; 2) in someintermediate frequency (IF) where the signal is shifted down to IFfrequency before being routed from the first antenna array 104A to thesecond antenna array 104B; 3) in baseband I/O domain, where the signalis down-converted (shifted in frequency) to zero frequency before beingrouted from first antenna array 104A to the second antenna array 104B;or 4) in digital domain, where the received signal is shifted down infrequency domain and digitized before being routed to the second antennaarray 104B.

In some embodiments, each RF repeater device (such as the first RFrepeater device 104 and/or the second RF repeater device 106) may notperform any decoding of received stream before re-transmitting it. Thismode may be utilized when very low latency link is desired or required.In this embodiment, the received signal passing through a receivingantenna array (such as first antenna array 104A) may be shifted infrequency, amplified, filtered for out of channel noise, and transmittedat RF frequency through a transmitting antenna array (such as the secondantenna array 104B) configured to a certain beam pattern. In someembodiments, each RF repeater device (such as the first RF repeaterdevice 104 and/or the second RF repeater device 106) may digitize thereceived stream for some low-latency processing in digital domain (suchas channel selection filtering, IQ correction), without demodulating thedata stream. In some embodiments, where latency of demodulation andre-modulation of data stream can be afforded (i.e. acceptable), and/orthe quality (i.e. the SNR) of the received stream is not sufficient forre-transmission as is, the RF repeater device (such as the first RFrepeater device 104 and/or the second RF repeater device 106) mayde-modulate, de-code, re-encode, re-modulate the stream beforere-transmitting the stream through a transmitting antenna array (such asthe second antenna array 104B).

In some embodiments, the receiving antenna array (e.g. the first antennaarray 104A) and transmitting antenna array (e.g. the second antennaarray 1048, or the fourth antenna array 1068) inside a RF repeaterdevice (e.g. the first RF repeater device 104 or the second RF repeaterdevice 106) operate at the same carrier RF frequency. In this case, nofrequency shift is applied/observed between the incoming signal comparedto the outgoing signal. In some embodiments, the carrier RF frequency ofincoming and outgoing signals may be different. This embodiment may beutilized, for 1) better utilization of spectral channels, 2) betteroverall frequency planning in network, and/or 3) better isolationbetween the two antenna arrays inside the RF repeater device operatingat same time/channel. In some embodiments, the antenna arrays in a RFrepeater device of the repeater system 102 may deploy classic phaseshifters per antenna element to create configurable or programmableantenna radiation patterns. In some embodiments, the antenna arrays maybe implemented by other means of creating programmable phase shifts inRF signals per group of radiating elements of a given antenna array. Insome embodiments, digital domain computations (e.g. complex multipliers(certain amplitude and certain phase of a signal) or true delay lineimplementations per radiating element may be deployed to producedirectional and/or configurable radiation patterns.

In accordance with an embodiment, the repeater system 102 may beconfigured to perform beam pattern configuration. Each antenna array(either transmitting or receiving) within a RF repeater device (e.g. thefirst RF repeater device 104 or the second RF repeater device 106) maybe further configured to select and form a radiation pattern from aplurality of possible beam patterns. In the case of simultaneousmulti-beam mode of operation, each beam can be configured independently.Several approaches may be used for selecting the beam configurations forvarious links in/out of each RF repeater device of the repeater system102. In a first approach, a localized beam configuration selection maybe employed, in which a repeater device (e.g. the first repeater device104 or the second repeater device 106) may implement operationsself-contained within the repeater device to determine what beamconfigurations to use. For example, the first repeater device 104 may beconfigured to measure SNR or received signal power to select the bestbeam configuration when receiving signal from the source device, such asthe source node 108.

In a second approach, link level beam configuration selection may beemployed, in which a repeater device (e.g. the first repeater device 104or the second repeater device 106) may be configured to use the linkbetween the RF repeater device and one of the source node 108 (i.e. nodeA) or the first destination node 110 (i.e. node B) to train its beamselection for its receiving or transmitting array. For example, toselect a beam configuration for the first antenna array 104A of thefirst RF repeater device 104 towards the source node 108 (i.e. node A),the first RF repeater device 104 may be configured to use one or morelink metric measurements (such as SNR or received signal power) by thesource node 108 (i.e. node A) to configure the beam of the secondantenna array 104B of the first RF repeater device 104. In animplementation, the communication and exchange of measurements betweeneach RF repeater device (e.g. the first RF repeater device 104 or thesecond RF repeater device 106) of the repeater system 102 and the sourcenode 108 (i.e. node A) may be done using an out-of-band or an auxiliarylink. For example, a Wi-Fi link or a Long-term Evolution (LTE) link maybe used for coordination and exchange of messages between each RFrepeater device and the source node 108 (i.e. node A). In anotherimplementation, the exchange of measurements and training of beamselection process may be done using in-band communication (i.e. the sametarget link that is used for data transport between each RF repeaterdevice of the repeater system 102 and the source node 108 (i.e. node A),is also used for training and selection of beam configuration).

In a third approach, a network level beam configuration selection may beperformed, in which a master network node (e.g. a base station in thecase of a wireless network, or a server in the cloud network) may beconfigured to acquire various information elements from the variousnetwork nodes in the network, and use all such data to select the beamconfigurations for different nodes and RF repeater devices of therepeater system 102 in the network. For example, the source node 108(i.e. node A) may be configured to acquire measurement data from thefirst RF repeater device 104, the second RF repeater device 106, and thefirst destination node 110 (i.e. node B), and other possible destinationnodes in the network. Thereafter, the source node 108 (i.e. node A) maybe configured to process all acquired measurements jointly, and instructthe network nodes and the repeaters devices of the repeater system 102in the network to use the selected beam configurations, respectively.

FIG. 1B is a network environment of the communication system with arepeater system in a second configuration, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 1B is explained inconjunction with elements from FIG. 1A. With reference to FIG. 1 B,there is shown a communication system 100B that may include a repeatersystem 102 that include the network of RF repeater devices, such as thefirst RF repeater device 104 and the second RF repeater device 106 ofFIG. 1A, re-configured in a different topology (e.g. different from thefirst topology of FIG. 1A).

In this configuration (i.e. the second configuration) of the network ofRF repeater devices, the network and settings of the first RF repeaterdevice 104 and the second RF repeater device 106 (i.e. repeaters #1 and#2) may be modified such that each RF repeater device connects directlyto the source node 108 (i.e. node A). In this configuration, and in someembodiments, two beams (or streams) may be utilized by the source node108 (i.e. node A) to service both the RF repeater devices (the first RFrepeater device 104 and the second RF repeater device 106) concurrently.In one example, this re-configuration may be triggered by blockage ofthe communication link between the second RF repeater device 106(repeater #2) and the first destination node 110 (node B). As a resultof this blockage, the first destination node 110 (node B) may still beserviceable through the first RF repeater device 104 (repeater #1). Inother words, the network of RF repeater devices may be re-configuredfrom the first topology (as shown in FIG. 1A) to the second topology (orsettings as shown, for example, in FIG. 1B). This re-configuration andtransition between first and second configurations (i.e. from firsttopology to the second topology), may be executed in a dynamic orsemi-static fashion.

FIG. 10 is a network environment of the communication system with arepeater system in a third configuration, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 10 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A and 1B. With reference to FIG.1C, there is shown a communication system 100C that may include therepeater system 102 that include the network of RF repeater devices,such as the first RF repeater device 104 and the second RF repeaterdevice 106, re-configured in a different topology (e.g. different fromthe topology of FIG. 1A or 1B).

In this configuration (i.e. the third configuration), the topology ofthe RF repeater devices connectivity may be re-configured, to addresshigher traffic/throughout demand by the first destination node 110 (i.e.node B). In this example, the network of RF repeater devices may bere-arranged, such that the first destination node 110 (node B) mayreceive two streams, concurrently, each from a different repeater (e.g.the first RF repeater device 104 and the second RF repeater device 106in this case), to allow stream aggregation over same frequency/timeslot, through different spatial paths, as shown, in an example. It is tobe understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that other eventsor changes in network condition may trigger a dynamic re-configurationof the topology of the network of RF repeater devices in terms ofutilization and allocation of RF repeater devices between the sourcenode 108 and the one or more destination nodes (i.e. the firstdestination node 110 and the second destination node 112).

In accordance with an embodiment, the control of the one or more secondRF repeater devices (e.g. the second repeater device 106) in the networkof RF repeater devices is executed via an in-band communication betweenthe first RF repeater device 104 and the one or more second RF repeaterdevices. Alternatively, the control of the one or more second RFrepeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices may be executedvia an out-of-band communication between the first RF repeater device104 and the one or more RF second repeater devices. In other words, acontrol channel for reconfiguring the topology of the RF repeaterdevices may utilize a subset of following options: A) in-band channel:where the same data plane may be used for exchanging commands between anetwork management engine and the RF repeater devices of the network ofRF repeater devices; B) out of band channel (out of 5G communicationband): where another link, such as LTE or Wi-Fi link may be used forexchanging commands between the network management engine and the RFrepeater devices of the network of RF repeater devices (e.g. the firstRF repeater device 104 and the second RF repeater device 106).

FIG. 2 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure. FIG. 2 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. With reference to FIG. 2 , there is shown acommunication system 200 that may include a repeater system 202. In FIG.2 , the communication system 200 that includes the repeater system 202represents joint utilization of a direct and repeater paths of therepeater system 202. There is further shown RF repeater devices 204 and206 of the repeater system 202, a source node 208, (i.e. node A), and adestination node 210 (i.e. node B). The repeater system 202 correspondsto the repeater system 102.

In some embodiments, a plurality of nodes (e.g., the source node 208,(i.e. node A), the destination node 210 (i.e. node B), the RF repeaterdevice 204 (i.e. repeater #1), and the RF repeater device 206 (i.e.repeater #2)) may deploy multiple physical antenna arrays to expand ontheir MIMO processing capabilities, as shown in FIG. 2 . In this case,the physically separated (i.e. distinguished) antenna arrays may bedeployed for transmitting multiple streams. For example, as shown inFIG. 2 , each antenna array may be configured to transmit two or threedata streams through two or three different beams, and a total fivestreams may be transmitted by the source node 208, (i.e. node A).

In this embodiment, a combination of routing paths through the RFrepeater devices 204 and 206 and direct paths may be utilized to delivermulti-streams from the source node 208 (i.e. node A) to the destinationnode 210 (node B). In an example, at least one network node, such as oneRF repeater device of the network of RF repeater devices (or a centralcommunication device, such as a network management engine (not shown)),may be configured to communicate with other network nodes (includingsource node, RF repeater devices, or destination nodes) to determine thecombination of routing paths. As shown in 2, the destination node (i.e.node B) may be configured to concurrently receive data streams throughrepeater nodes 204 and 206 (e.g., repeaters #1 and #2), while receivingsame or different streams through different beams from the source node208 (i.e. node A) directly. The direct path from the source node 208(i.e. node A) to the destination node (i.e. node B) (carrying signal orstream SO), may be a line-of-sight path, or a reflective indirect pathbetween the source node 208 and the destination node 210 (i.e. nodes Aand B). In some embodiments, topology and relative coordinates ofrepeaters and the source node 208 and the destination node 210 (i.e.nodes A and B) may be utilized (by one of the RF repeater device or thecentral communication device or other network management engines) toprovide improved separation/isolation between the signal streamspropagating through the repeater nodes 204 and 206 (e.g., repeaters #1and #2), and the signal streams propagating directly between the sourcenode 208 and the destination node 210 (i.e. nodes A and B).

In accordance with an embodiment, one or more implementations may bejointly or separately supported by the communication system 200. Forexample, in a first implementation, all beams and streams (e.g. streamsS11, S12, S0, S21, and S22 carried by different beams of RF signals)shown in the FIG. 2 , may be transported over the same antenna radiationpolarity (e.g. all transmitted over vertical polarization, or alltransmitted over horizontal, or all transmitted over circularpolarization). In a second implementation, a subset of beams (andstreams) shown in the FIG. 2 , may be transported over H polarization,while another subset may be transported over V polarization.

In an implementation, additional cross-coefficients (i.e. a plurality ofsignal parameters) may be implemented and utilized in followingapproaches. In a first approach (a), such plurality of signal parameters(e.g. complex value parameters of gain/phase) may use the expression:a₁₁*exp(j*phi₁₁). Each RF repeater device (such as the RF repeaterdevices 204 and 206) may include different values for these signalparameters. In some embodiments, 8 total complex coefficients (4 or 5coefficients per RF repeater device in the repeater system 202, in thisexample), may be derived and selected to: 1) optimize MIMO capacity ofthe MIMO channel from [S11 S12; S21 S22] to [R11 R12; R21 R22]. In thisembodiment, these complex coefficients to maximize the sum ofeigenvalues of the 4×4 MIMO channel matrix, and 2) Optimize effectiveSNR for some or all of streams S11_0, S12_0, S_0, S21_0, S22_0. In thiscase, the destination node 210 (i.e. target) may maximize linkrobustness and SNR margin.

In a second approach (b), relative gain adjustment between streams maybe achieved based on the plurality of signal parameters (i.e. additionalcross-coefficients or values) selected at each RF repeater device (suchas RF repeater devices 204 and 206). The plurality of signal parameters(i.e. the coefficients) may be utilized as joint gain control across thesource node 208, the destination node 210 (node A and node B) or RFrepeater devices 204 and 206 and across all streams in order to providea balance between relative power levels of streams R11, R12, R21, R22 atthe destination node 210 (i.e. node B), and to ensure that no stream(including estimated stream S0) degrades other streams due to high powerlevel and inherent cross-leakage.

In another implementation, various beams (carrying correspondingstreams) deployed at the network nodes (the source node 208 and thedestination node 210) and the RF repeater devices 204 and 206, may beoperating all over a single carrier frequency. In yet another,implementation, various beams (carrying corresponding streams) deployedat the network nodes (the source node 208 and the destination node 210)and the RF repeater devices 204 and 206, may be operating selectivelyover different carrier frequencies. This embodiment may be utilized, forexample, when a plurality of streams may be transported over differentchannels (or carriers) in a carrier-aggregation mode of operation.

In another implementation, the plurality of signal parameters (i.e. thecomplex coefficients or values) inside the RF repeater devices 204 and206 (i.e. the repeaters #1 or #2) may deploy fixed values to implementan intermediary MIMO processing on the streams passing through a RFrepeater device (e.g. the RF repeater device 204 or RF repeater device206). For example, these signal parameters (i.e. complex value) may forma 2×2 matrix structure of [+1 +1; +1 −1] or other matrix structures thatmay effectively apply a unitary MIMO processing on the data streams.

FIG. 3 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure. FIG. 3 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIGS. 1A, 1B, 10, and 2 . With reference to FIG. 3 , there is shown acommunication system 300 that may include the first RF repeater device104 of the repeater system 102. In FIG. 3 , the communication system 300represents blockage and reflection avoidance by the repeater system 102.There is further shown the source node 108 (i.e. node A) and the firstdestination node 110 (i.e. node B).

In some embodiments, a given a RF repeater device (e.g. the first RFrepeater device 104) in the network of RF repeater devices is configuredto utilize beam optimization techniques to avoid radiating power towardsobjects (e.g. a signal blocking object 302) in the vicinity of the givenrepeater device (e.g. the first repeater device 104). In someembodiments, the first repeater device 104 may be configured to utilizean auxiliary beam (i.e. a monitoring beam 304) to monitor surroundingenvironment by sensing for reflective power. This additional beam (i.e.the monitoring beam 304) provides information on directions that resultsin stronger reflective power, indicating that power radiating in suchdirections is reflected back towards the given RF repeater device (e.g.the first RF repeater device 104). For example, consider “mode A” ofoperation, where no signal blocking object (or reflective object) may bepresent. In this case, the given RF repeater device (e.g. the first RFrepeater device 104) is configured to select a wide beam pattern toradiate power over the wide beam to provide coverage to most users inits vicinity. In “mode B” of operation, the first RF repeater device 104is further configured to identify the signal blocking object 302 in itsvicinity and at a certain direction (e.g., by utilizing the monitoringbeam 304, or any other technique for proximity detection). Thereafter,the first RF repeater device 104 may be configured to re-configure itsmain beam to create a null (an avoidance region 306), to avoid radiatingpower in the direction of the signal blocking object 302 (e.g. a blockeror a reflector). This may be done for several purposes: A) to preventthe reflected power from entering the repeater system 102 (specifically,the first RF repeater device 104 in this case) and causing oscillationor degrading signal quality through self-interference, B) to reduceeffective radiation power by avoiding unnecessary radiation of energy indirections that do not provide coverage to the one or more destinationnodes, such as the first destination node 110, and C) to reduce totaleffective power consumption by reducing the power profile of one or morepower amplifiers (of the first RF repeater device 104), or switching offcertain elements, as the total radiated power is reduced due to theavoidance region 306 in the radiation pattern.

FIG. 4 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure. FIG. 4 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS.1A, 1B, 1C, 2, and 3 . With reference to FIG. 4 , there is shown acommunication system 400 that may include the repeater system 102. InFIG. 4 , the communication system 400 represents a direct mode 406versus an access mode 408 of operations by the repeater system 102.There is further shown the source node 108 (i.e. node A), the firstdestination node 110 (i.e. node B), and the second destination node 112(i.e. node B′).

In some embodiments, the first RF repeater device 104 may be configuredto facilitate a wireless connection between two end nodes (or, twodestination nodes, such as the first destination node 110 and the seconddestination node 112, or two user equipment nodes). As shown, two modeof operation may be supported, for example, the direct mode 406 and theaccess mode 408. With no loss of generality, in an example, the sourcenode 108 (Node A) may be a base station in a wireless network.Similarly, the first destination node 110 and the second destinationnode 112 (i.e. nodes B and B′) may be two user equipment (for example,two end user consumer devices) attached to the base station node A (i.e.the source node 108). In the access mode 408, as shown, the firstdestination node 110 and the second destination node 112 (Node B and B′)may receive their respective data from the source node 108 (node A) andthrough the first RF repeater device 104. The network of RF repeaterdevices (e.g. the first RF repeater device 104) may determine to switchto the direct mode 406 of operation between the nodes B and B′ (i.e. thefirst destination node 110 and the second destination node 112).However, direct propagation path between the first destination node 110and the second destination node 112 (nodes B and B′) may not provide thelink quality desired or needed. Thus, in such a case, the first RFrepeater device 104 may be configured to allocate its phase arrayresources, for example, separate antenna arrays (the first antenna array104A and the second antenna array 104B (and beamforming capabilities) toprovide a link between nodes B and B′ (i.e. the first destination node110 and the second destination node 112). In some embodiments, thesource node 108 (node A, which may operate as an access point or a basestation), may allocate time slots for the nodes B and B′ (i.e. the firstdestination node 110 and the second destination node 112) to utilizethose time slots (time and frequency resources) to establish directlinks between the nodes B and B′. In this case, the first RF repeaterdevice 104 may be further configured to modify beamformingconfigurations of the first RF repeater device 104 to provide paths fromthe second destination node 112 (node B′) directly through receiving andtransmitting beams of the first RF repeater device 104 and to the endpoint, such as the first destination node 110 (Node B).

In some embodiments, the source node 108 (node A, which may act as anaccess point or the base station), may determine and program availabletime slots into three categories: uplink slots (U), downlink slots (D),and flexible slots (X). In some embodiments, the slots assigned asflexible slots (X) may be allocated to nodes B and B′ (i.e. the firstdestination node 110 and the second destination node 112) for directcommunications. The first RF repeater device 104 or the centralcommunication device (having network management engines) may beconfigured to instruct other nodes (e.g. Node A, B, B′, other RFrepeater devices) in a wireless network for the slots assignment.

In some embodiments, the direct link framework (i.e. the direct mode406) as explained and shown, for example, in the FIG. 4 , may beutilized to enable the proximity services (ProSe) as defined in 3GPP NRspecifications through the network of repeaters devices that canbeneficially create a viable propagation path between the firstdestination node 110 and the second destination node 112 (nodes B andB′). In some embodiments, same messaging protocols defined under 3GPPNR's ProSe specification may be utilized for allocating and establishingdirect link between the first destination node 110 and the seconddestination node 112 (i.e. nodes B and B′), however, the direct path maybe established through the network of RF repeater devices.

FIG. 5 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure. FIG. 5 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3, and 4 . With reference to FIG. 5 , there isshown a communication system 500 that may include the repeater system202. In FIG. 5 , the communication system 500 represents a sharing of agiven RF repeater device, such as the RF repeater device 204, bymultiple source nodes, such as source nodes 502 and 504 (nodes A1 andB1). There is further shown a first destination node 510 (i.e. node A2)in a network A 506 and a second destination node 512 (i.e. node B2) in anetwork B 508.

In some embodiments, the first RF repeater device (e.g. the RF repeaterdevice 204) may be further configured to establish a communicativecoupling with a plurality of source nodes, such as the source nodes 502and 504 (nodes A1 and B1). The first RF repeater device (e.g. the RFrepeater device 204) may be further configured to share one or morephased array antenna and beamforming resources available within thefirst RF repeater device (e.g. the RF repeater device 204) concurrentlywith the plurality of source nodes, such as the source nodes 502 and 504(nodes Al and B1). The RF repeater device 204 may be utilizedconcurrently by multiple sources nodes. For example, multiple wirelessbase stations may use the same RF repeater device(s) in the network ofRF repeater devices to connect to their respectively end-user devices,by utilizing the phased array and beamforming resources available withinthe RF repeater device(s).

In the FIG. 5 , the source node 502 and the first destination node 510(i.e. the nodes A1 and A2) form a network or a cell (e.g. the network A506), whereas the source node 504 and the first destination node 511(i.e. the nodes B1 and B2) form another adjacent or overlapping network(e.g. the network B 508). Both the network A 506 and the network B 508may utilize the same repeater node, such as the RF repeater device 204,to facilitate or improve communication links within each network orcell. Some scenarios and embodiments are described below:

-   A) Geographically, the network A 506 and the network B 508 may be    fully overlapping, partially overlapping, or adjacent cells.-   B) The network A 506 and the network B 508 may operate on the same    frequency channel or frequency band, or on different frequency    channels.-   C) The network A 506 and the network B 508 may be operated or    managed by same operator/administrator or by different operators or    telecommunications service provider.-   D) The sharing of the first RF repeater device (e.g. the RF repeater    device 204) between the network A 506 and the network B 508, may be    executed on a dynamic basis. For example, depending on networks'    configurations, traffic demand, and changes in the network    conditions or environment, the first RF repeater device (e.g. the RF    repeater device 204) may be configured to be assigned exclusively to    the network A 506, assigned fully and exclusively to the network B    508, or be shared between the two networks (i.e. between the network    A 506 and the network B 508). The transition between the above three    modes of assignment may be dynamic or semi-static, and may be    managed by the central communication device (e.g. a central network    management engine) or at least one network device of the network of    RF repeater devices.-   E) Various sharing mechanisms may be utilized. For example, the RF    repeater device 204 may have a plurality of antenna arrays for    receiving and forwarding data streams. In some embodiments, a subset    of antenna arrays may be exclusively allocated to the network A 506,    while another subset of antenna arrays may be allocated to the    network B 508. In another example, the RF repeater device 204 may    have multi-beam capable phased arrays. In some embodiments, a subset    of beams within same antenna array may be allocated to the network A    506, while another subset of beams within same antenna array are    allocated to the network B 508.-   F) In some embodiments, the network A 506 and the network B 508 may    have same or similar uplink/downlink timing and slot allocations. In    other embodiments, the two networks (network A 506 and the network B    508) may have arbitrary or uncoordinated network timing and    duplexing configurations.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.6 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 2to 5 . With reference to FIG. 6 , there is shown a RF repeater device602 implemented to operate as a multi-port configurable radio frequency(RF)-switching RF repeater device. The RF repeater device 602corresponds to the first RF repeater device 104, and may be a part ofthe repeater system 102 (that is one of the network of RF repeaterdevices).

In some embodiments, the RF repeater device 602 refers to a multi-portconfigurable switching device, which routes waveforms arriving through asubset of its antenna array panels to another subset of its antennaarray panels. The RF repeater device 602 may comprise a plurality ofports 602A to 602E, where each port may comprise a plurality of antennaarray resources. Each port may have a transmit, a receive, or atransmit/receive capability. These ports may be connected to each otherthrough a configurable routing fabric 604. The RF repeater device 602further includes a processor 606, which may execute one or more modes ofoperation and may have one or more routing mechanisms (described, forexample, in various embodiments below).

In accordance with an embodiment, each port may have a single antennaarray or encompass multiple antenna arrays. For example, the ports 602A,602B, 602D, 602E (i.e. port #1, #2, #4, #5) each comprise one antennaarray, whereas the port 602C (port #3) may comprise multiple antennaarrays (two or more antenna arrays).

In accordance with an embodiment, some ports may support singlebeam/stream operation (e.g., ports #1, #5), whereas some ports maysupport multi beam/stream operation through single array (e.g., ports #2and #4), or through multiple arrays (e.g., port #3).

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 606 may be configured toexecute the routing (transportation of streams) between the ports 602Ato 602E in RF domain (no frequency shifting), or in some intermediatefrequency (IF) domain (down-converted to some IF frequency forconnection between the incoming/outgoing ports within the RF repeaterdevice 602), or in analog in-phase/quadrature-phase IQ domain, or indigital domain data streams.

In accordance with an embodiment, some ports may be configured fornarrow-beam operation, whereas as some ports may be configured to createwide radiation patterns. Moreover, in another case, same ports may bedynamically configured between wide and narrow beams.

In accordance with an embodiment, a port within the RF repeater device602 may be implemented for time-division-duplexing (TDD) or forfrequency-division-duplexing (FDD) operation. A subset of ports from theports 602A to 602E may be designed or configured to operate in the TDDmode, while other ports are configured to operate in the FDD mode. Insome embodiments, a port may be implemented to operate in TX-only orRX-only mode of operation.

In accordance with an embodiment, all ports may be operable in the samefrequency channel or band, e.g., as a switch within asingle-frequency-network (SFN). In some other embodiments a subset ofports may be operable in one RF frequency, while others may be operablein another RF frequency.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ports 602A to 602E may bephysically implemented or positioned within the RF repeater device 602to cover different sectors. For example, a given RF repeater device maybe implemented with four ports, each port covering a 90-degree sector.In this case, the given RF repeater device would have a full 360-dgreefield of view through four sectors. In some other variations, the givenRF repeater device may include more ports, where each port may have anarrower field of view.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ports 602A to 602E may overlap interms of their geographical coverage. For example, a sector covering a90-degree field of view may include multiple ports covering that sector.These ports may be operating in the same frequency channel or differentfrequency channels.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 606 of the RF repeaterdevice 602 may be configured to service or route streams from (within)different cells or networks (e.g. the network A 506 and the network B508 of FIG. 5 ). For example, some ports may be allocated to the networkA 506, while other ports are allocated to network B 508. The network A506 and the network B 508 may be managed by differentoperators/administrators or same operator. The network A 506 and thenetwork B 508 may use same frequency channel/band, or different bands.

In accordance with an embodiment, a static switching configuration maybe executed by the processor 606 of the RF repeater device 602. Thecross-connectivity between the ports 602A to 602E may be configured in astatic or semi-static manner. For example, the cross-connectivity fabric604 may be configured to connect and route or switch ports #1 to port #2and vice-versa, port #3 to port #4 and vice-versa, etc. In the case ofTDD mode of operation, same cross-connectivity path (e.g. thecross-connectivity fabric 604) may be utilized for support streamrouting in both directions (e.g., both uplink and downlink directions).

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 606 of the RF repeaterdevice 602 may be configured to execute dynamic switching configuration.In the dynamic switching configuration, the cross-connectivityconfiguration may change dynamically, on one of following timescales: 1) per packet, 2) per time slot, 3) per frame, 4) persuper-frame, 5) per OFDM, or OFDMA symbol.

In accordance with an embodiment, a control plane (or channel) may beused for dynamic switching by the processor 606. In this case, theinformation for switching the routing between the ports may betransported in one of following methods: 1) out-of-band channel, such asan LTE or a Wi-Fi link, 2) in-band channel, by embedding the routingconfiguration in the same frames transported across the ports, 3)embedded in PHY and/or MAC headers of frames being transported throughthe ports, or 4) in preamble portion of frames being transported throughthe ports. In the case of “preamble-based” messaging, the latency may befurther minimized as the switching repeater (i.e. the RF repeater device602) may be configured to detect the preamble at the beginning of aframe and apply the decoded switching or routing configuration to thecurrent frame or subframe.

In accordance with an embodiment, the RF repeater device 602 may includeswitching table containing switching paths and beamforming settings. Theprocessor 606 of the RF repeater device 602 may be configured to operateas a switching or routing device, where the incoming signals are routedor switched from an incoming port to an outgoing port withoutdemodulating the stream. The streams may be routed in RF domain, someintermediate frequency (IF) domain, or down-converted analog signals.The RF repeater device 602 may be configured to route a plurality ofstreams through different sets of ports concurrently. These streams mayarrive and depart on the same RF channel or different RF channels. Themapping look-up-table for routing incoming and outgoing ports may beabstracted to have local port numbers. In an example, the routing portmapping look-up-table may include following information elements, asgiven in Table 1.

TABLE 1 A routing port mapping look-up-table (LUT)   Port #1 to Port #5(beam #1) Port #2 (beam #1) to Port #5 (beam #2) ...

In accordance with an embodiment, the routing port mapping look-up-tablealso include information about port mapping as a function of slot number(or frame number). For example, this mapping may include mapping/routinginformation elements in following format (e.g. TABLE 2).

TABLE 2 A routing port mapping look-up-table (LUT) with time slotinformation   Port #1 to Port #5 (beam #1) @ time slot #1 Port #1 toPort #2 (beam #1) @ time slot #2 Port #1 to Port #5 (beam #1) @ timeslot #3 Port #2 (beam #1) to Port #5 (beam #2) @ time slot #1 ...

The routing port mapping LUTs in table 1 or 2, may be updated by theprocessor 606 in one of following methods: 1) static or semi-static, 2)dynamic as the traffic or profile of nodes change, 3) the LUT updatingmay be applied over in-band channel (same data streams carry controlinformation for routing table) or out-of-band channels (such as LTE orWi-Fi, or any low-throughput robust link).

In some embodiments, the above mapping LUTs may include beamformingconfiguration information. For example, the above LUTs may takefollowing format and information elements, as given, for example, intable 3.

TABLE 3 A routing port mapping look-up-table (LUT) with beamformingconfiguration information   Port #1 to Port #5 (beam #1) @ time slot #1,with RX beam index #10 and TX beam index #15 Port #1 to Port #2 (beam#1) @ time slot #2, with RX beam index #5 and TX beam index #12 Port #1to Port #5 (beam #1) @ time slot #3, with RX beam index #1 and TX beamindex #2 Port #2 (beam #1) to Port #5 (beam #2) @ time slot #1 ... ...

With the above extended LUT architecture, the RF repeater device 602have the necessary information to route incoming streams from each toport to corresponding outgoing port, and it would know the time slot forthis routing, and also the beam configurations needed to be applied tothe receiving and transmitting phased arrays.

In some embodiments, preamble-based routing information may be embeddedat beginning of packets/frames in the form of a detectable (match-able)sequence. For example, consider a RF repeater device with total 8ports/streams. For a per-packet dynamic routing of packets across theports, a preamble may be added to beginning of each packet. By matchingthis added preamble sequence at the beginning of a frame/packet againsta known set of sequences, the RF repeater device in the network of RFrepeater devices, may be configured to determine to which port theincoming stream should be routed to. For example, if the additionalpreamble sequence is matched against sequence #5, then the RF repeaterdevice may determine to route this packet/frame to port #2 (one to onedeterministic mapping). This allows for per-packet dynamic routing ofstreams without decoding of PHY or MAC headers, hence eliminating anylatency associate with decoding and/or demodulating.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 606 of the RF repeaterdevice 602 may be configured to remove the routing preamble sequence ata beginning of a stream and substitute that with a different preamblesequence at the beginning of outgoing packet (or frame). Thesubstitution may be done all in RF and/or analog domain, without addingany latency to the data stream. The substituted new preamble sequence isto enable the subsequent repeater node to identify the routing path whena next RF repeater device receives the outgoing packet/frame. In someembodiments, the “routing port mapping look-up-table (LUT)” may beextended to include the information for the preamble sequence beinginserted to outgoing packets/frames. For example, the followinginformation may be captured in this LUT, in table 4, in an example.

TABLE 4 A routing port mapping look-up-table (LUT) with preamblesequence information   Incoming preamble sequence at Port #1 or port #3is to route incoming stream to Port #5 (beam #1) @ time slot #1 ANDsubstitute preamble sequence at beginning of received packet/frame withpreamble sequence #1 ...

In some embodiments, the processor 606 of the RF repeater device 602 maybe configured to utilize a standardized Application Program Interface(API) to enable exchanges between the RF repeater device 602 and othernodes or entities within the broader communication network. These APIsmay be utilized for control plane or for monitoring or probing purposes.These APIs may be implemented as in-band channel where the primarycommunication link is utilized for transporting API commands. In someembodiments, such APIs may be accessible through an out-of-band channel.For example, the primary communication protocol may be a mmWave 5G NRsystem for transmitting/receiving streams through various ports, whereasthese API command exchanges may be transported over an LTE or Wi-Fichannel. In some embodiments, such APIs may be used by a programming ornetwork optimization engine residing in a remote server or a cloudserver, such as the central communication device, for accessing,monitoring, and configuring a large number of RF repeater devices, suchas the network of RF repeater devices.

In some embodiments, the standardized APIs may be used for configuringthe various look-up tables residing within the RF repeater device 602for beam programming and selection, ports mapping, and time slotallocation. For examples, all mapping or selection information elementslisted in previous embodiments may be accessible or programmable throughsuch APIs by the processor 606. These APIs may be used with standardizedfunction definitions, function calls, and function arguments to programeach/all information elements. In some embodiments, such APIs may beused for dynamic and/or real-time programing of the various elements inthe lookup tables (LUTs). In some embodiments, such APIs may have timestamps (e.g., time slot numbers) for each control command to takeimpact.

In some embodiments, the processor 606 of the RF repeater device 602 maybe configured to implement APIs to collect link statistics, repeaterstatus/logs, for a subset of ports, or beams/streams. For example, suchstandardized APIs would support probing and reading of metrics such as:RSSI per port/beam, SNR per port/beam as a function of slot number,cross-leakage between streams, beams, and/or polarizations.

FIG. 7 is a network environment of a communication system with arepeater system, in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure. FIG. 7 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIGS. 1A, 1B, 10, and 2 to 6 . With reference to FIG. 7 , there is showna communication system 700 that may include a repeater system thatinclude a first RF repeater device 702. In FIG. 7 , the communicationsystem 700 represents the first RF repeater device 702 as a UE-paired RFrepeater device (i.e. paired with the first destination node 110). Thereis further shown the source node 108 and an extended boundary 704(represented by a dashed rectangular box) of the first destination node110 (Node B).

In accordance with an embodiment, a repeater, such as the first RFrepeater device 702, may be closely or exclusively associated with adestination node, such as the first destination node 110, in thecommunication system 700. For example, assume the source node 108 (nodeA) being a wireless base station and the first destination node 110(Node B) being a user equipment (UE) such as a smartphone or a customerpremise equipment (CPE) device. In this configuration, the firstdestination node 110 (i.e. the UE node) utilizes the first RF repeaterdevice 702 for improved connectivity performance. For example, the firstdestination node 110 (i.e. the UE node) may utilize the RF repeaterdevice 702 for: 1) higher throughput, 2) better coverage, 3) lower powerconsumption by the first destination node 110 (i.e. the UE node) throughleveraging the transmit/receive resources of the RF repeater device

In accordance with an embodiment, a control channel may be used betweenthe first destination node 110 (node B) and the RF repeater device 702,where this control channel may be different than the primary link orcommunication protocol between the source node 108 (Node A) and thefirst destination node 110 (Node B). For example, a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) 706 (e.g. a Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth link) may be used forexchanging control and configuration commands between the firstdestination node 110 (Node B) and the first RF repeater device 702.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 702 maybe configured to control and facilitate a beam training between thefirst destination node 110 (Node B) and the first RF repeater device702. The beam training may be controlled or facilitated by the WLAN 706(i.e. the Wi-Fi/BT link), as a control channel. In some embodiments, thefirst RF repeater device 702 may be managed and configured by the firstdestination node 110 (Node B), for low power consumption and operation.For example, the first destination node 110 (Node B) may utilize itsinformation about traffic demand/pattern and the allocation of timeslots to the first destination node 110 (Node B) by the source node 108(Node A), to identify the time slots that the first RF repeater device702 needs to be activated and/or the link direction for the first RFrepeater device 702 (e.g. where its transporting data uplink ordownlink). In some embodiments, the first destination node 110 (Node B)may be configured to use the Wi-Fi/BT link for sending low power mode ofoperation commands to the first RF repeater device 702. For example, fortime slots that the first destination node 110 (Node B) may be expectedto be in sleep mode or standby mode, the first destination node 110(Node B) may then instruct the first RF repeater device 702 over theWi-Fi/BT link to switch off its components (phased arrayreceivers/transmitters) related to primary link to preserve powerconsumption). In some embodiments, the power mode states of the firstdestination node 110 (Node B) (from link perspective), such as TX mode,RX mode, Standby, Sleep, Deep-Sleep are replicated at the first RFrepeater device 702 (synced over Wi-Fi/BT link), so that the first RFrepeater device 702 may save power consumption by implementingsame/similar power modes.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first destination node 110 (NodeB) may be configured to utilize the first RF repeater device 702 toimplement its transmit power control commands. For example, for uplinkslots, and where the first destination node 110 (Node B) is required toadjust (increase/decrease) its transmit power level, it may utilize thefirst RF repeater device 702 and the control channel access (WLAN 706)to the first RF repeater device 702, to instead adjust the power levelof a second antenna array facing the first destination node 110 (NodeB), when the source node 108 (Node A) may be transmitting data towardsthe first destination node 110 (Node B)

In accordance with an embodiment, the source node 108 (Node A) may beconfigured to utilize its processing resources and measurements done onthe incoming signal, to facilitate or improve the automatic gain controlimplemented inside the first RF repeater device 702 to adjust variousgain levels through the repeater signal chain. This may be done whenfirst RF repeater device 702 is in receiver mode or in transmit mode.

In accordance with an embodiment, a 5G NR digital modem 708 (or a subsetof modem function) may be added into the repeater design, such as thefirst RF repeater device 702. The 5G NR digital modem 708 (when itfunctions as a demodulator) may not be included in the path ofincoming/outgoing stream. In this case, the first RF repeater device 702may not add any latency to the data stream being transported from thesource node 108 (Node A) towards the first destination node 110 (nodeB). In some embodiments, electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM)may be used so that the same wireless line authentication (or number)used by the first destination node 110 (e.g., a smartphone with 5G NRmmWave modem) is replicated and used by the 5G NR digital modem 708inside the first RF repeater device 702. This allows the 5G NR modem 708inside the first RF repeater device 702 to decode the same user channelsas the first destination node 110 (Node B). Such mode of operation maybe utilized to fully synchronize the operation modes and power modes ofthe first destination node 110 (Node B) and the first RF repeater device702 with very accurate timing synchronization. This mode of operationeliminates the need for using the Wi-Fi/BT link for configurating thepower modes of first RF repeater device 702 by the first destinationnode 110 (Node B), and hence eliminates the latency introduced otherwiseby such control commands.

In accordance with an embodiment, a subset of following power modes (asdefined in 5G NR specifications per 3GPP) are supported by thecombination of the first destination node 110 (Node B) and the first RFrepeater device 702 (represented by the extended boundary 704): A)different bandwidth parts; B) de-activation of secondary cell; C)switching to micro sleep mode by cross slot scheduling, or single-slotscheduling, or multi-slot scheduling; D) adaptation to number ofstreams/antenna arrays; E) adaptation to discontinuous reception andtransmissions (DRx, DTx); F) adaptation to multi-DRx configuration; andlastly, adaptation to achieve reducing Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) monitoring or decoding. These power modes of operation aresupported in 5G NR specification to enable User Equipment (UE) device,such as the first destination node 110, to minimize its powerconsumption by identifying above modes or configuration and implementingsuch modes of operation to adapt to these modes by switching off blocksor functions when possible.

In accordance with an embodiment, two modes of operation, orimplementations may be used to minimize its power consumption. In afirst mode of operation, the first destination node 110 (Node B as endUE) may be configured to extract the information needed to implement theabove power modes of operation as part of decoding the streams itreceives from the source node 108 (Node A). Thereafter, the firstdestination node 110 (Node B) may be configured to share suchinformation (along with timing stamp/slot information) with the first RFrepeater device 702 over Wi-Fi/BT link or any other short rangecommunication link (e.g. the WLAN 706). Based on such information, thefirst RF repeater device 702 may be configured to implement and applycorresponding power saving modes (e.g., switching off its phased arraysand transceivers over time slots when the first destination node 110(Node B) is not expecting any data).

In a second mode of operation, the first RF repeater device 702 may have5G NR demodulation capability (reduced functionality compared to fulldemodulation capability of 5G NR modem inside Node B). This reducedfunctionality may be defined to be sufficient to extract the informationneeded for power modes listed in previous embodiments. In someembodiments, shared SIM/authentication may be utilized so that first RFrepeater device 702 may demodulate and extract information that may havebeen exclusively targeted for the first destination node 110 (Node B),or encrypted for the first destination node 110. In this mode ofoperation, the WiFi/BT link may not be utilized for communicatingdynamic power modes, and thus eliminating the latency associated withdecoding power mode information by the first destination node 110 (NodeB) and transporting them over WiFi/BT link. This allows the first RFrepeater device 702 to decode power modes impacting the current or nextimmediate time slots, and allow the first RF repeater device 702 tochange its power mode in a very dynamic/fast manner for higher powersaving.

In accordance with an embodiment, a combination (hybrid) mode ofoperation may be utilized taking advantage of the above two modes ofoperation. For example, entering/exiting deep-sleep mode of operationmay be controlled by the first destination node 110 (Node B) andinstructions may be transported over the WiFi/BT link. The first RFrepeater device 702 may be further configured to detect dynamicallychanging power modes (such as DRX, DTX, multi-slot configuration)internally within the first RF repeater device 702 using its embeddeddemodulator, such as the 5G NR modem 708 (where this demodulator may befull functionality or reduced functionality), so that the first RFrepeater device 702 can adapt to these dynamic power modes instantly,without penalizing by the latency going through the first destinationnode 110 and receiving back over the Wi-Fi/BT link.

The various embodiments, described, for example, in FIG. 7 , may beextended to support the case where the first RF repeater device 702 isassociated with a set of user equipment (UEs) belonging to same family,such as a conference room), and the above features may be utilized tocontrol the first RF repeater device 702 for low power consumption. Insome embodiments, one of UEs may act as a master UE/node to control themacro power saving modes of another RF repeater devices.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG.8 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2 to7 . With reference to FIG. 8 , there is shown a RF repeater device 802implemented as a frequency-converting repeater that operate in amulti-frequency network of repeaters. The RF repeater device 802corresponds to the first RF repeater device 104, and may be a part ofthe repeater system 102 (that is one of the network of RF repeaterdevices).

In accordance with an embodiment, the RF repeater device 802 has a firstside 802A facing substantially towards the source node 108 and a secondside 802B that is opposite the first side 802A and faces substantiallytowards the one or more destination nodes, such as the first destinationnode 110 and the second destination node 112. The RF repeater device 802comprises one or more first antenna arrays (e.g. antenna arrays 808A and808B) and one or more second antenna arrays (e.g. antenna arrays 808Cand 808D). The RF repeater device 802 is further configured to receiveand transmit waveforms on each of the first side 802A and the secondside 802B via different antennas arrays of the RF repeater device 802.

Multi-Frequency Network of Repeaters: In accordance with an embodiment,the RF repeater device 802 is further configured to operate at differentcarrier frequency for incoming and outgoing waveforms. The incoming andoutgoing waveforms may be understood from the FIG. 8 , by the directionof arrows as shown with respect to the RF repeater device 802. In otherwords, the RF repeater device 802 may use a different RF carrierfrequency for incoming/outgoing waveforms. For example, as shown, theincoming/outgoing waveforms on the first side 802A of the RF repeaterdevice are centered at carrier frequency f1, whereas theincoming/outgoing waveforms on the second side 802B of the RF repeaterdevice 802 are centered at carrier frequency f2. In a case where thecarrier RF frequency of incoming and outgoing signals are different,such configuration may be utilized, for 1) better utilization ofspectral channels, 2) better overall frequency planning of network, and3) better isolation between the two antenna arrays inside a given RFrepeater device operating at same time or channel.

Following are some embodiments and examples of the operations of the RFrepeater device 802. In a first example, the RF repeater device 802 mayhave a configuration where different physical antennas are utilized oneach side of RF repeater device 802 for receiving and transmittingwaveforms. As this configuration may be used in frequency divisionduplexing (FDD) systems, same implementation may be used for timedivision duplexing (TDD) systems. In a second example, and in case ofTDD systems, a same physical antenna may be used on each side for bothtransmit and receive operations, as the transmit and receive time slotsare non-overlapping. In a third example, both f1 and f2 may both belongto millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. For example, f1 and f2 belong to 39GHz band and 60 GHz band, respectively. In a fourth example, one of f1or f2 may belong to a mmWave band (e.g., 60 GHz), whereas the otherfrequency belongs to a lower frequency band (e.g., 3.6 GHz in CBRSband). The up and down converters 804A and 804B along with the localoscillator 806 in the RF repeater device 802 are used for theup-conversion and down-conversion of an incoming signal in one frequencyto another frequency of an outgoing waveform.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 9 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and2 to 8 . With reference to FIG. 9 , there is shown a RF repeater device902 implemented as a frequency-converting repeater that operate in amulti-frequency network of repeaters. The RF repeater device 902corresponds to the RF repeater device 802 and first RF repeater device104, and may be a part of the repeater system 102 (that is one of thenetwork of RF repeater devices).

Sub-6 GHz Access RF repeater device: In this embodiment, a propagationfrequency on the second side 902B of the RF repeater device 902 belongsto some low carrier frequency bands (e.g., LTE bands, Wi-Fi bands in 2.4GHz/5 GHz, 3.6 GHz CBRS band, etc.), as compared to the propagationfrequency on the first side 902A of the RF repeater device 902. As aresult, smaller number of antenna elements in second antenna arrays 904Cand 904D may be provided in the RF repeater device 902 to propagatewaveforms in lower frequencies as compared to a number of antennaelements in first antenna arrays 904A and 904B of the RF repeater device902. Smaller number of antenna elements may create wider radiationpatterns, thereby providing broader coverage and lessening the need forfast/accurate beam tracking. In some embodiments, the RF repeater device902 may utilize only a single radiating element or antenna element atthe second side 902B of the RF repeater device 902, operating at lowradio frequency.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 10 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 10and 2 to 9 . With reference to FIG. 10 , there is shown a RF repeaterdevice 1002 implemented as a frequency-converting repeater that operatein a multi-frequency network of repeaters. The RF repeater device 1002corresponds to the RF repeater device 902 and first RF repeater device104, and may be a part of the repeater system 102 (that is one of thenetwork of RF repeater devices).

Sub-6 GHz Access RF repeater device for time division duplex (TDD): Insome embodiments, the RF repeater device 902 (of FIG. 9 ) implementationmay be modified for TDD operation as shown, for example, in the RFrepeater device 1002 in the FIG. 10 . In this case, a TDD switchingcircuit 1004 may be provided to adjust settings on various componentswithin the RF repeater device 1002 to follow the uplink/downlinkallocation of TDD time slots. Based on allocation or direction of alink, the TDD switching circuit 1004 may be configured to determine andconfigure a direction of operation for each side of the RF repeaterdevice 1002 in a dynamic or static manner. The TDD switching circuit1004 may also be referred to as a TDD switching engine.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a RF repeater device of a repeater system,in accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 11 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 10and 2 to 10 . With reference to FIG. 11 , there is shown a RF repeaterdevice 1102 implemented as a frequency-converting repeater that operatein a multi-frequency network of repeaters. The RF repeater device 1102corresponds to the RF repeater devices 902 and 1002 and the first RFrepeater device 104, and may be a part of the repeater system 102 (thatis one of the network of RF repeater devices). There is further shown afrequency down-converter 1104, a frequency up-converter 1106, a filer1108 (e.g. a band-pass filter or a low-pass filter), and an impairmentcorrection circuit 1110 in the RF repeater device 1102.

RF repeater device with Low Intermediate-Frequency (Low-IF): In someembodiments, the RF repeater device 1102 may deploy an internalintermediate frequency for frequency-shifting an incoming waveform, asshown in the FIG. 11 , in an example. In this case, an incoming waveformmay be first down-converted to an intermediate frequency (IF frequency)using a frequency down-converter 1104 (e.g., a mixer). The intermediatefrequency may be a low IF frequency value (e.g., between 0 and originalradio frequency f1), or be a zero value (e.g., the incoming signal beingdown converted to absolute baseband). The down-converted waveform may bethen up-converted to final f2 frequency using a frequency up-converter1106.

In some embodiments, the following functions and/or processing may beprovisioned within the repeater signal path: A) the filter 1108 may beconfigured to execute low-pass or band-pass filtering to filter out anyadjacent signal (i.e. a blocker/noise) around a signal-of-interest, oncethe incoming waveform is down-converted to IF/zero frequency; B) the RFrepeater device 1102 may be configured to execute gain adjustment, tocontrol the power of signal radiating on the outgoing signal of the RFrepeater device 1102; C) the impairment correction circuit 1110 may beconfigured to execute impairment corrections, which include: in-phasequadrature-phase (I/O) imbalance correction, and frequency-domaincorrection of in-band frequency roll-off.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 12 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 10C and 2 to 11 . Withreference to FIG. 12 , there is shown a communication system 1200 thatmay include a repeater system 1202 that include a first RF repeaterdevice 1204 and a second RF repeater device 1206. In FIG. 12 , thecommunication system 1200 represents a frequency f1 to a frequency f2deployment scenario, where the target source node, such as a source node1208 (Node A) is configured to operate at a first propagation frequencyf1 and target destination nodes, such as a first destination node 1210(Node B) and a second destination node 1212 (Node B′) are configured tooperate at a second propagation frequency f2 that is different from thefirst propagation frequency f1.

In an example, the first propagation frequency f1 may be a mmWavefrequency, whereas the second propagation frequency f2 may be a in aCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band, for example, 3.6 GHz CBRS,and the like (e.g. a sub-6 GHz frequency). The repeater system 1202 thatincludes the first RF repeater device 1204 and the second RF repeaterdevice 1206 may be utilized to provide and improve the links(connections) between the source node 1208 (Node A) and the firstdestination node 1210 (Node B) and the second destination node 1212(Node B′). The source node 1208 may include a digital signal processor1208A that is configured to execute baseband processing operationsincluding beamforming to communicate mmWave signal (at the firstpropagation frequency f1) to the first RF repeater device 1204. Thesource node 1208 (node A) may be configured to operate at a firstcarrier frequency (e.g. f1, such as a mmWave signal) and the one or moredestination nodes are configured to operate at a second carrierfrequency (e.g. f2, such as sub-6 GHz). The first RF repeater device1208 may be configured to control the one or more second RF repeaterdevices, such as the second RF repeater device 1206, in the network ofRF repeater devices to convert the first carrier frequency (e.g. f1) tothe second carrier frequency (e.g. f2) to close a communication link. Inthis embodiment, the first RF repeater device 1202 (repeater #1) usesthe first propagation frequency f1 as both incoming and outgoingfrequency and does not perform any frequency conversion to a lowerfrequency. The second RF repeater device 1204 uses the first propagationfrequency f1 as incoming frequency and the second propagation frequencyf2 as outgoing frequency, where ultimate destination nodes Node B/B′(i.e. the first destination node 1210 and the second destination node1212) receive their signals at access frequency f2 via a wide beam (asshown), and the frequency conversion occurs at the second RF repeaterdevice 1204 using a frequency up-converter 1206A in association with alocal oscillator 1206B.

In some embodiments, all digital and baseband processing for linksto/from Nodes B and B′ (i.e. the first destination node 1210 and thesecond destination node 1212) may be performed centrally at the sourcenode 1208 (Node A). The repeater system 1202 may not perform anywaveform processing, hence keeping the latency through the network of RFrepeater devices close to zero (e.g., orders of 10s of nanosecond). Forexample, the source node 1208 (Node A) may be an LTE/5G-NR base station,and the nodes B/B′ may be complete standalone UEs attached to basestation Node A. All user/network management functions as well as digitalprocessing of signals/streams may be performed by Node A through itsembedded digital unit, such as the digital signal processor 1208A Therepeater system 1202 (Repeaters #1/#2) may not performdemodulation/re-modulation of data streams, although the second RFrepeater device 1206 (Repeater #2) may act as an access point (or smallcell) providing access to end users, such as the Nodes B/B′, and providecoverage to end users at propagation frequency f2. All baseband/digitalprocessing to support and maintain connections to the nodes B/B′ may beperformed and managed by the source node 1208 (Node A).

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 13 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2 to 12 . Withreference to FIG. 13 , there is shown a communication system 1300 thatmay include a repeater system 1302 that include a first RF repeaterdevice 1304 and a second RF repeater device 1306. In FIG. 13 , thecommunication system 1300 represents frequency f2-to-f2 deploymentscenario, where the target source node, such as a source node 1308 (NodeA) as well as the target destination nodes, such as a first destinationnode 1310 (Node B) and a second destination node 1312 (Node B′) areconfigured to operate at a same propagation frequency f2.

In this embodiment, for illustration purposes, the source node 1308(Node A), the first destination node 1310 (Node B), and the seconddestination node 1312 (Node B′) are depicted to use larger andcomparatively smaller number of antenna elements (larger wavelength)corresponding to lower RF frequencies. As an example, Node A, Node B,Node B′ all may be designed to operate in an LTE band, CBRS band, orsub-6 GHz Wi-Fi band. In this deployment scenarios, the source anddestination nodes (Node A, B, and B′) may operate at a frequency f2,whereas the first RF repeater device 1304 and the second RF repeaterdevice 1306 in between are operating at frequency f1 at portion of thesignal propagation trajectory.

In an example, the first RF repeater device 1304 (repeater #1) may beconfigured to utilize frequency f2 as incoming frequency, and frequencyf1 as outgoing frequency. With no loss of generality, frequency f1 inthis example belongs to a mmWave (high frequency) band, as comparativelysmaller antenna elements are needed (for shorter wavelength). In such anexample, the frequency f2 may be in 3.6 GHz CBRS band, and frequency f1may be in 60 GHz band. The link between the first RF repeater device1304 (repeaters #1) and the second RF repeater device 1306 (repeater #2)may be then established at frequency f1, where ultimate destinationnodes (Node B/B′) receive their signals at access frequency f2. By useof comparatively larger number of antenna elements at frequency f1,narrows beams are established for the link between the first RF repeaterdevice 1304 (repeaters #1) and the second RF repeater device 1306(repeater #2), as shown, in an example. In some embodiments, thelocations of the first RF repeater device 1304 (repeaters #1) and thesecond RF repeater device 1306 (repeater #2) may be stationary, wherebeams may be adjusted/trained in an infrequent rate, eliminating needfor fast/complex beam tracking methods.

In some embodiments, each of the first destination node 1310 (Node B)and a second destination node 1312 (Node B′) may be configured to sharesame time-slots for receiving their respective data throughfrequency-division-multiple-access methods (FDMA), such as OFDMA, byallocating different sets of subcarriers within OFDMA symbol, todifferent end users (e.g., Node B and B′). In some embodiments,additional RF repeater devices (e.g., repeater #3) may be placed inbetween the first RF repeater device 1304 (repeaters #1) and the secondRF repeater device 1306 (repeater #2) in case the distance between twoRF repeater devices is too long to close the link. In this case, theadditional RF repeater devices in between may operate as f1-in f1-outconfiguration (single frequency; no-frequency-shifting), or theadditional RF repeater devices may alternatively convert the waveformback-and-forth between f1 and a third frequency f3. The use of thirdfrequency f3 may be utilized to minimize/eliminatecoupling/self-interference between the incoming and outgoing waveformson the same RF repeater device.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 14 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2 to 13 . Withreference to FIG. 14 , there is shown a communication system 1400 thatmay include a first RF repeater device 1404 and a second RF repeaterdevice 1406 of a repeater system.

Access Repeater with MIMO Support: For the sake of discussion anddescription, the second RF repeater device 1406 that wirelessly connectswith the destination node 1410 (Node B) may also be referred to as“Access Repeater”, which indicate that the second RF repeater device1406 (i.e. Repeater #2) acts as the last of the network of RF repeaterdevices, which provide access to end users at access frequency f2.Alternatively, one or more RF repeater devices, such as the first RFrepeater device 1404 that close the link in between a source node 1408(Node A) and the access repeater may be referred to as a “BackhaulRepeater”.

In some embodiments, the “Access Repeater” may be configured andprovisioned to support multi-input multi-output (MIMO) operation betweenthe access repeater (such as the second RF repeater device 1406) and thedestination node 1410 (Node B, e.g., user equipment), where this MIMOcommunication may be conducted at frequency f2 (e.g., lower band, suchCBRS). This mode of operation is beneficial and advantageous, given thatthe propagation at lower frequency f2 results in rich scattering channelresponse, which leads to better MIMO capacity and MIMO performance.

The following are some exemplary embodiments and operations of therepeater system and methods with support for MIMO. In an example, a4-stream MIMO link is created over the access link between the accessrepeater (i.e. the second RF repeater device 1406; Repeater #2) and thedestination node 1410 (Node B). This link may be established over accessfrequency band f2 (typically in sub 6 GHz), which generally demonstratesgood MIMO channel properties and MIMO gain. In this example, streams s1,s2, s3, and s4 represent the four data streams after MIMO coding isapplied on some original (information) data streams. In someembodiments, this MIMO processing may be performed in the “DigitalUnit”, such as a digital signal processor 1402, provided in the sourcenode 1408 (Node A).

In some embodiments, the four MIMO codes streams s1, s2, s3, s4 may betransported over the same channel (or sub-channel) within band of f2. Inother words, these 4 streams may have same center frequency and form aMIMO communication over same channel. In the FIG. 14 , a 4×4 antennaconfiguration is depicted between the second RF repeater device 1406(Repeater #2) and the destination node 1410 (Node B) (4 transmit antennaelements at Repeater #2 and 4 receive antenna elements at Node B). Thisis only one exemplary antenna configuration, and any other combinationof antennas and streams may be utilized.

In some embodiments, the access repeater (i.e. the second RF repeaterdevice 1406; Repeater #2), may be configured to perform the followingfunctions: A) down-conversion of the signals received through the firstRF repeater device 1404 (Repeater #1) at f1 band to a lower frequencyband (access band) of f2. B) receiving of the four streams s1, s2, s3,s4 (aggregated in frequency domain within band f1), and dis-aggregationof such streams (through channel selection filtering and otheroperations as needed, such as frequency shifting, multiplexing ordemultiplexing by a processor 1406A), to transmit the four streams overthe same frequency channel inside band f2, each stream radiating throughone of the antenna elements in the second RF repeater device 1406(Repeater #2).

In some embodiments, and as shown in the FIG. 14 , the four streams s1,s2, s3, s4 may arrive at the access repeater (i.e. the second RFrepeater device 1406; Repeater #2), at four different channels, such as{ stream s1 at channel “f1_1”, stream s2 at f1_2, stream s3 at f1_3, andstream s4 at f1_4}. These four streams s1, s2, s3, s4 may be thentransported over same channel (f2_0), to create a MIMO link between theaccess repeater (i.e. the second RF repeater device 1406; Repeater #2)and the destination node 1410 (Node B).

In some embodiments, the MIMO processing for the destination node 1410(Node B) may be done locally inside the destination node 1410 (Node B)by a processor 1410A (e.g. like typically done by a UE in a wirelessnetwork). Additionally, MIMO processing for network side of link isperformed inside the source node 1408 (Node A, for example, by thedigital signal processor 1402). In this case, no MIMO processing may beperformed by any of the RF repeater devices between the source node 1408(Node A) and the destination node 1410 (Node B). In the case of MIMOprocessing (including any MIMO pre-coding, MIMO decoding) beingperformed centrally inside the source node 1408 (Node A), it includesboth downlink MIMO processing (e.g., MIMO pre-coding) and uplink MIMOprocessing (e.g., MIMO decoding).

In some embodiments, the source node 1408 (Node A) and the destinationnode 1410 (Node B), may be configured to perform channel measurementfunctions that estimate the effective MIMO channel between the sourcenode 1408 (Node A) and the destination node 1410 (Node B), and which mayinclude the contributions of RF repeater devices in the end-to-end MIMOchannel response, as well as the propagations in frequency band f2. Theestimated MIMO channel responses may be then used to perform MIMOpre-coding and decoding at both ends of the link, depending on directionof link.

In some embodiments, the propagation channel between the source node1408 (Node A), and the RF repeater devices (such as the first RFrepeater device 1404 and the second RF repeater device 1406) may bestatic (i.e. stationary), where the beams between the RF repeaterdevices may be trained or re-trained very infrequently. Alternatively,the channel between the second RF repeater device 1406 (Repeater #2) andthe destination node 1410 (Node B) may be dynamic and varying at a fastrate. Same or similar channel estimation pilots (signals) embedded inthe MIMO waveforms may be used by the source node 1408 (Node A) and thedestination node 1410 (Node B) to estimate and track MIMO channelimpulse response in a dynamic manner and use that for MIMO pre-codingand/or MIMO decoding.

In some embodiments, the aggregation of waveforms coming out of thesource node 1408 (Node A), i.e., {s1@f1_1, s2@f1_2, s3@f1_3, s4@f1_4}may take different orders/spacing. With no loss of generality, somevariations may include, but are not limited to: A) in a first case, thesignals may be placed next to each other in the frequency domain,thereby minimizing the frequency gaps between the four waveforms in thefrequency domain, B) in another case, the signals may be placed withsome gap/guard interval in between to ease the selection filteringneeded to select and disaggregate these waveforms, C) in a third case,if a large amount of spectrum is available (e.g., 7 GHz of unlicensedspectrum in V-band), these four waveforms s1 to s4 may be placed withlarge gaps (defined gaps) in between. This is done to minimizesensitivity and degradation due to other interfering signals operatingin the f1 band. For example, in V-band case, other links may existoccupying 1.76 GHz of spectrum at a time. Furthermore, assume the case,where the waveforms s1, s2, s3, s4, each occupy 400 MHz spectrum. Thus,packing all four streams next to each other in frequency domain wouldoccupy a bandwidth of −1.6 GHz. In this case, if a 1.76 GHz interferingsignal may impact/overlap with all four stream at same time, and hencelikely disrupt the link. In some embodiments, streams s1, s2, s3, s4 maybe placed in frequency domain with −2 GHz gap in between adjacentstreams. In such a case, a presence (or appearance) of a 1.76 GHzinterfering signal may only overlap and impact one out of four streams.Given the MIMO and channel coding applied on the four streams, there maybe a higher probability that the original information stream may berecovered at a receiver, given the redundancy in the correctioncapability embedded into the streams being transmitted over the air.

In some embodiments, each RF repeater device in the network of RFrepeater device may be configured to apply a multi-stream gainadjustment or equalization on the four streams S1, S2, S3, S4 throughoutthe chain of RF repeater devices. This relative gain adjustment may beapplied in one or a plurality of repeaters of the network of RF repeaterdevices. This gain adjustments may be applied on the incomingwaveforms/streams or outgoing waveforms/streams. This relative gainadjustment/equalization may be applied for different purposes and/or dueto different conditions, including but not limited to: A) to compensatefor gain imbalances throughout the repeater chain. For example, ifstream s1 experiences some gain attenuation/dispersion due to its centerfrequency, its power would be adjusted/recovered to same level as otheradjacent waveforms. This may be performed to prevent the out-of-channelradiation/leakage levels of one of the streams to overwhelm and/ordegrade the signal quality of another stream of the four streams withlower absolute power level; B) to compensate for gain imbalance betweenthe streams s1 to s4 due to propagation differences experienced overfrequency band f2, for links between the second RF repeater device 1406(Repeater #2) and the destination node 1410 (Node B). For example, thestreams s1 to s4 received by different antennas of the second RFrepeater device 1406 (Repeater #2), during uplink (the destination node1410 (Node B) towards the source node 1408 (Node A)), may have verydifferent relative signals levels. Aggregating these received signalsnext to each other in the frequency domain, may potentially degrade thesignal quality of weaker signals, due to leakage of out-of-bandemissions of stronger signals. To address this issue, some relative gainequalization may be applied inside second RF repeater device 1406(Repeater #2) before aggregating the four streams s1 to s4 and sendingthem up towards the first RF repeater device 1404 (Repeater #1). In someembodiments, the relative gain values may be coordinated, or sharedwith, or set by the source node 1408 (Node A). This is to enable thebaseband processing (MIMO pre-coding, decoding) to take into this gainadjustment (which is not part of actual channel propagation between thesecond RF repeater device 1410 (Repeater #2) and the destination node1410 (Node B) in their MIMO processing.

In an exemplary implementation, the f1 band corresponds to a mmWavesignal and the f2 band corresponds to the CBRS band.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 15 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2 to 14 . Withreference to FIG. 15 , there is shown a communication system 1500 thatmay include RF repeater devices 1502, 1504, and 1506 in a repeatersystem. There is further shown the source node 1408 (Node A) and thedestination node 1410 (Node B) (of FIG. 14 ).

Access Multi-Repeaters with Distributed MIMO Support: In thisembodiment, multiple RF repeater devices, such as the RF repeaterdevices 1502, 1504, and 1506, provide access to the destination node1410 (Node B), by transporting multiple streams concurrently and oversame frequency channel to the end user, such as to the destination node1410 (Node B). Some exemplary embodiments and features (in variouscases) are described below (where a subset or all of features may beutilized or deployed in a repeater system.

In a first case, two RF repeater devices 1504 and 1506 (Repeater #2 andRepeater #3) may provide links to the destination node 1410 (Node B) infrequency band f2. In a second case, incoming or downlink signals may betransported to the access repeaters (i.e. the RF repeater devices 1504and 1506) over a mmWave band (e.g., band f2). While the RF repeaterdevices 1504 and 1506 perform frequency shifting (between f1 and f2),the RF repeater devices 1502 (repeater #1) may be configured to providewaveform steering and amplification, without applying any frequencyshifting.

In a third case, the access repeaters (i.e. the RF repeater devices 1504and 1506) may be further configured to receive their respective signalsfrom same repeater (e.g. the RF repeater device 1502; repeater #1), orthey may establish their connections to the source node 1408 (Node A)through different repeaters in the network of repeaters deployed. In afourth case, the RF repeater device 1502 (Repeater #1) may be furtherconfigured to use different antenna arrays (as shown in the FIG. 15 ),or same antenna arrays (array panel) with multi-beam/stream capability,to establish links in band f2 with the RF repeater devices 1504 and 1506(repeaters #2 and #3).

In a fourth case, distributed MIMO communication may be establishedbetween the source node 1408 (Node A) and the destination node 1410(Node B), where combination of MIMO channels between the RF repeaterdevice 1504 (Repeater #2) and the destination node 1410 (Node B) and theRF repeater device 1506 (Repeater #3) and the destination node 1410(Node B), forms a MIMO channel with larger dimensions. In an example, asshown, each channel may be a 2×4 MIMO link, where superset of thesechannels, may construct an effective 4×4 MIMO link.

In a fifth case, all baseband/MIMO/digital processing (such as MIMOpre-coding, decoding) on network side may be performed centrally insidethe source node 1408 (Node A) (or in a virtualized Node B). In thiscase, the RF repeater devices 1502, 1504, and 1506 (repeaters #1, #2,#3) may not perform or apply any digital processing on the streams s1 tos4, resulting in nearly zero latency through the network of repeaters.

In a sixth case, a plurality of repeaters with {f1-in, f1-out}configuration may be utilized to extend the range of coverage for thesource node 1408 (Node A). For example, the RF repeater device 1502(repeater #1) may be replaced by a mesh of RF repeater devices that maytake in signals in band f1 and transmit over in band f1 (e.g., mesh ofRF repeater devices operating in band f1).

In a seventh case, the links between the RF repeater devices 1502 and1504 {repeater #1, repeater #2}, and the RF repeater devices 1502 and1506 {repeater #1, repeater #3} may be established using narrow beams inmmWave band f1, using an array of antenna elements with phase shifters.The steerable phased-array-based antenna panels may be configured andtrained to find the best or suitable propagation paths between therespective RF repeater devices.

In a seventh case, for the RF repeater device 1502 (repeater #1), whereincoming/outgoing frequencies operate in same frequency band, followingtechniques may be used to mitigate self-interference: A) methods byusing beam pattern and polarization optimization to null/mitigateself-interference or reflections from objects in vicinity, or B) byallocating non-overlapping channels (or sub-channels) within the bandf1.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a scenario for implementation of arepeater system in a communication system, in accordance with anotherexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 16 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2 to 15 . Withreference to FIG. 16 , there is shown a communication system 1600 thatmay include RF repeater devices 1502, 1504, and 1506 in a repeatersystem. There is further shown the source node 1408 (Node A), thedestination node 1410 (Node B) (of FIG. 14 ) and another destinationnode 1602 (Node B′).

Access Multi-Repeaters with Distributed Multi-User MIMO Support: In thisembodiment, multiple end-users, such as destination nodes 1410 and 1602(e.g., Node 13/13′) may be supported by a plurality of access repeaters(i.e. the RF repeater devices 1504 and 1506) that provide propagationcoverage to the destination nodes 1410 and 1602 (Nodes 13/131 In someembodiments, the data streams generated and originated at the sourcenode 1408 (Node A) may include data for both end users, such as thedestination nodes 1410 and 1602 (e.g., Node 13/13′ multiplexed infrequency using OFDMA method). In some embodiments, the source node 1408(Node A) may be configured to generate streams s1, s2, s3, s4, to form amulti-user MIMO communication link between the antennas of the RFrepeater devices 1504 and 1506 (repeaters #2 and #3) and the destinationnodes 1410 and 1602 (e.g., Node B and B′). Moreover, in someembodiments, resource blocks (sub-carriers according to OFDMA protocol)within streams s1, s2, s3 and s4 may be assigned to each end user, suchas each destination nodes 1410 and 1602 (e.g., Node B/B′). In this case,the destination nodes 1410 and 1602 (e.g., Node B/B′) may beconcurrently serviced in same frequency band or channel and in sameframe or time slot.

In some embodiments, all of the 3 above described methods, operations,features, and systems may be applied to an FDD system, where uplink anddownlink streams are concurrently transported over two differentfrequency bands. In this case, the uplink and downlink streams mayutilize same physical antennas (wideband antennas), orseparate/different physical antennas.

In some embodiments, the RF repeater devices of the network of RFrepeater devices may have internal circuitry, blocks, function to detectthe TDD slot allocations for uplink/downlink. This may be used forswitching ON/OFF and direction of blocks with each RF repeater devicebased on direction of links for a given time slot. In some embodiments,the assignment of time slots for TDD uplink/downlink may be communicatedto the RF repeater devices over a control channel/plane, where thiscontrol plane may be an out-of-band channel (such as a low data rate LTElink), or in-band control channel embedded into the streams travelingthrough the RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devicesconfigured or re-configured in one or more topologies.

In some embodiments, the access repeaters (providing access to end usersin lower frequency band) may form a “Distributed Antenna System (DAS)”,where multiple access repeaters provide signals to end users, such asdestination nodes. In some embodiments, same end user may be receivingMIMO signal streams, concurrently from multiple Access Repeaters. Insome embodiments, the MIMO streams transmitted by multiple of accessrepeaters (such as RF repeater devices 1504 and 1506) for a distributedor coordinated MIMO access, where individual MIMO streams transmitted bydistributed access repeaters are centrally (or jointly) generated/codedin the base stations (e.g., Node A).

In some embodiments, frequency allocation coordination may be utilizedover the links between a given destination node (Node B), RF repeaterdevices, and in between RF repeater devices, to mitigate or minimizeinterference between the links within band f1. This coordination may beperformed by various circuitry or engines inside a given source node(Node A), by collecting and analyzing a subset of information aboutdeployment locations or orientation of RF repeater devices in thenetwork of RF repeater devices arranged in a given topology, andsignal/interference power measurements conducted or reported by the RFrepeater devices. For example, links with high level of cross-leakage inband f1, may be allocated non-overlapping channels within band f1. Inother cases, beam pattern optimization methods may be used to mitigateinterference between links, through creating nulling or rejectionregions within the beam patterns of antenna arrays of the RF repeaterdevices in the network of RF repeater devices.

In some embodiment, no hard or explicit handoff may be utilized when auser (e.g., Node B) enters or exits the coverage region of a givenaccess repeater. The end user (Node B), may implicitly (seamlessly) betransitioning from the propagation coverage of one access repeater intoanother access repeater's coverage region, or into the source node's(Node A's) direct coverage. Since all the signal processing is donecentrally inside the Node A, the transition from one access repeaterdomain into another repeater access's domain does not require anyhandoff process or special user management services.

In some embodiments, OFDMA waveforms and protocols may be used by agiven source node (Node A), to support multiple end users (UEs, NodeB/B′) over same time slot and frequency channel, as a means of multipleaccess mechanism. In other embodiments, TDD and FDD signaling may beutilized.

In some embodiments, each access repeater may only contain one radiatingelement in band f2, which may transmit signal to the destination node(Node B). In this case, each access repeater may operate as one antennain plurality of antennas needed for MIMO communication to end user NodeB, where other access repeaters each act as other antenna elements ofthe MIMO system. In this case, the MIMO streams for all these individualantenna elements inside access repeaters, may be generated/codedcentrally inside the given destination node (Node B).

In some embodiments, adjacent access repeaters (operating in band f2),may each be allocated non-overlapping portions of a frequency band. Thisallows the adjacent access repeaters covering end users, deliver trafficand data streams over different sub-channels. This mode of operationallows for wireless-like partitioning of coverage for each accessrepeater. Moreover, this allows for frequency reuse, across a network ofaccess repeaters, by alternately allocating non-overlapping frequencysub-channels to adjacent access repeaters (or cells). In someembodiments, the allocation and coordination of frequency sub-channelsto access repeaters may be managed by the source node (Node A), one ofnetwork of RF repeater devices, or a central communication device (e.g.a cloud server with a network management engine).

In some embodiments, a given network node (e.g. Node A) may usecommunication system and methods according to 3GPP standards andspecifications. For example, Node A may act as an eNB per LTE (EUTRA)specifications under 3GPP, and Node B/B′ may be two User Equipment(UEs). In some embodiments, the Node A may use specifications as per NewRadio (NR) system defined under 3GPP (also known as 5G NR). In thiscase, the Node A may operate as gNB per 5G NR specifications. In someother embodiments, the Node A may use specifications per variousversions of IEEE 802.11 standard (e.g., 802.11ac, 802.11ax, etc.). Inthis case, the Node A may act as an access point per 802.11specifications and devices Node B/B act as STAs under 802.11specifications.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating various components of anexemplary RF repeater device of a repeater system, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 17 is explained inconjunction with elements from FIGS. 1 to 12 . With reference to FIG. 17, there is shown a block diagram 1700 of a RF repeater device 1702. TheRF repeater device 1702 may be an example of a RF repeater device usedin the repeater system 102, 202, 1202, or 1302, in FIGS. 1A to 1C, 2 to16 . For example, the RF repeater device 1702 may correspond to thefirst RF repeater device 104, the second RF repeater device 106, or theRF repeater device 602, 702, 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1204, 1206, 1304,1306, 1404, 1406, 1502, 1504, or 1506, or other RF repeater devices,such as an access repeater or a backhaul repeater. The RF repeaterdevice 1702 may include a control section 1704 and a front-end RFsection 1706. The control section 1704 may include control circuitry1708 and a memory 1710. The control section 1704 may be communicativelycoupled to the front-end RF section 1706. The front-end RF section 1706may include front-end RF circuitry 1712. The front-end RF circuitry 1712may further include a receiver circuitry 1714, one or more first antennaarrays 1716, a transmitter circuitry 1718, and one or more secondantenna arrays 1720.

The control circuitry 1708 may be configured to execute variousoperations of the RF repeater device 1702. The control circuitry 1708include suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfaces configured tocontrol various components of the front-end RF circuitry 1712. The RFrepeater device 1702 may be a programmable device, where the controlcircuitry 1708 may execute instructions stored in the memory 1710.Example of the implementation of the control circuitry 1708 may include,but are not limited to an embedded processor, a microcontroller, aspecialized digital signal processor (DSP), a Reduced Instruction SetComputing (RISC) processor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,and/or other processors, or state machines.

The memory 1710 may be configured store values, such as the plurality ofmeasurements associated with each of the source node 108, the firstdestination node 110, the second destination node 112, and various RFrepeater devices of the repeater system 102, 202, 1202, or 1302. Thememory 1710 may be further configured store the plurality of signalparameters (e.g. the complex coefficients). Examples of theimplementation of the memory 1710 may include, but not limited to, arandom access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), astatic random access memory (SRAM), a processor cache, a thyristorrandom access memory (T-RAM), a zero-capacitor random access memory(Z-RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a securedigital (SD) card, a flash drive, cache memory, and/or othernon-volatile memory. It is to be understood by a person having ordinaryskill in the art that the control section 1704 may further include oneor more other components, such as an analog to digital converter (ADC),a digital to analog (DAC) converter, a wireless modem, such as the 5G NRmodem 708, mixers, up/down converters, local oscillators, WLANconnection circuits for BT/wi-fi links, filters, impairment correctioncircuits, and the like, which are omitted in this figure for brevity.

The front-end RF circuitry 1712 includes the receiver circuitry 1714 andthe transmitter circuitry 1718. The receiver circuitry 1714 is coupledto the one or more first antenna arrays 1716, or may be a part of thereceiver chain. The transmitter circuitry 1718 may be coupled to the oneor more second antenna arrays 1720. The front-end RF circuitry 1712supports multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operations, and may beconfigured to execute MIMO communication with a plurality of end-userdevices. The MIMO communication may be executed at a sub 6 gigahertz(GHz) frequency or even mmWave frequency.

The receiver circuitry 1714 may be configured to control the one or morefirst antenna arrays 1716 which are configured to receive one or morebeams of RF signals carrying one or more data streams from a sourcenetwork node (e.g. the source node 108 or node A). In an example, thereceiver circuitry 1714 may include a cascading receiver chaincomprising various components for baseband signal processing or digitalsignal processing. For example, the receiver circuitry 1714 may includea cascading receiver chain comprising various components (e.g., the oneor more first antenna arrays 1716, a set of low noise amplifiers (LNA),a set of receiver front end phase shifters, and a set of powercombiners) for the signal reception (not shown for brevity).

The transmitter circuitry 1718 may be configured to further forward thereceived one or more beams of RF signals carrying the one or more datastreams to a destination network node (e.g. the first destination node110 or node B). The transmitter circuitry 1718 may be configured tocontrol the one or more one or more second antenna arrays 1720. In anexample, transmitter circuitry 1718 may include a cascading transmitterchain comprising various components for baseband signal processing ordigital signal processing.

In various embodiments, described, for example, in FIGS. 1A to 10, and 2to 16 , where the one or more first antenna arrays 1716 receives asignal and re-transmits the signal through the one or more secondantenna arrays 1720, additional processing/operation may be applied tothe signal between the one or more first antenna arrays 1716 and thecorresponding transmitting array of the one or more second antennaarrays 1720. For example, the received signal may be: 1) frequencyshifted to a frequency other than input carrier frequency, 2) passedthrough phase and gain adjustment, such as the gain and phase controloperation may be applied, 3) passed through low-pass or band-passfiltering, 4) digitized and processed in digital domain beforere-transmission, or 5) digitized, de-modulated, re-modulated andre-transmitted.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating various components of anexemplary network node, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure. FIG. 18 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIGS. 1A to 1C, and 2 to 17 . With reference to FIG. 18 , there is showna block diagram 1800 of a network node 1802. The network node 1802 maycorrespond to the Node A (e.g. the source node 108) or Node B/B′ (e.g.the first destination node 110 or the second destination node 112). Thenetwork node 1802 may include a control section 1804 and a front-end RFsection 1806. The control section 1804 may include control circuitry1808 and a memory 1810. The control section 1804 may be communicativelycoupled to the front-end RF section 1806. The front-end RF section 1806may include front-end RF circuitry 1812. The front-end RF circuitry 1812may further include a receiver circuitry 1818 and a transmittercircuitry 1816. The front-end RF circuitry 1812 may further include oneor more antenna or antenna arrays depending on implementation (not shownfor the sake of brevity). Examples of the implementation of the controlcircuitry 1808, the memory 1810 may correspond to the examples ofimplementation of the control circuitry 1708 and the memory 1710,respectively.

The front-end RF circuitry 1812 includes the receiver circuitry 1814 andthe transmitter circuitry 1816. The receiver circuitry 1814 may beconfigured to receive one or more beams/streams from one or more RFrepeater devices, such as the RF repeater device 1702, or directly fromanother network nodes in a network. The front-end RF circuitry 1812supports MIMO processing and operations, and may be configured toexecute MIMO communication with the one or more RF repeater devices andend-user devices. The MIMO communication may be executed at a sub 6gigahertz (GHz) frequency or mmWave frequency. The transmitter circuitry1816 may be configured to transmit one or more beams of RF signalscarrying one or more data streams to a destination network node (node B)via one or multiple communication paths through the one or more RFrepeater devices of a repeater system (e.g. the repeater system 102,202, 1202, or 1302).

FIGS. 19A and 19B, collectively, is a flowchart that illustrates amethod for wireless communication utilizing RF repeater devices, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 19A and 19B, areexplained in conjunction with elements from FIGS. 1A to 10, and 2 to 18. With reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B, there is shown a flowchart 1900comprising exemplary operations 1902 through 1916. The method may beimplemented in a repeater system, such as the repeater system 102, 202,1202, or 1302. In an example, the method may be executed by one of thenetwork of RF repeater devices, such as the first RF repeater device102, or a central communication device having a network managementengine.

At 1902, a change in a network condition in a wireless network may bedetected between a source node (Node A) and one or more destinationnodes (Node B and B′). The source node and one or more destination nodesmay be serviced by a network of RF repeater devices configured in afirst topology.

At 1904, based on the detected change in the network condition, the oneor more second RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devicesmay be controlled (e.g. by the first RF repeater device 104) tore-configure the first topology of the network of RF repeater devices toa second topology. The re-configuration of the first topology of thenetwork of RF repeater devices to the second topology may be executed atleast to continue to service the source node and the one or moredestination nodes in the cellular/wireless network in the changednetwork condition. Various embodiments and operations related to dynamicre-configuration of a given topology of the network of RF repeaterdevices, has been described in detail, for example, in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C,and 2 to 7 .

At 1906, a form of connectivity may be modified between the source nodeand the network of RF repeater devices for the re-configuration of thefirst topology of the network of RF repeater devices to the secondtopology.

At 1908, an allocation of the first RF repeater device or the one ormore second RF repeater devices to the one or more destination nodes maybe changed (e.g. by the first RF repeater device 104 or the centralcommunication device) for the re-configuration of the first topology ofthe network of RF repeater devices to the second topology.

At 1910, an allocation of the first RF repeater device 104 or the one ormore second RF repeater devices to the source node may be changed (e.g.by the first RF repeater device 104 or the central communication device)for the re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RFrepeater devices to the second topology.

At 1912, a communicative coupling may be established (e.g. by the firstRF repeater device 104) with a plurality of source nodes.

At 1914, one or more phased array antenna and beamforming resourcesavailable within the first repeater node 104 may be shared (e.g. by thefirst RF repeater device 104) concurrently with the plurality of sourcenodes.

At 1916, the first RF repeater device 102 (or one or more RF repeaterdevices of the network of RF repeater devices) may be operated atdifferent carrier frequency for incoming and outgoing waveforms. In acase where the carrier RF frequency of incoming and outgoing signals aredifferent, such configuration may be utilized, for 1) better utilizationof spectral channels, 2) better overall frequency planning of network,and 3) better isolation between the two antenna arrays inside a given RFrepeater device operating at same time or channel. Various embodimentsand operations related to use of different carrier frequency forincoming and outgoing waveforms, has been described in detail, forexample, in FIGS. 8 to 16 .

Various embodiments of the disclosure may provide a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer implementedinstructions that when executed by a computer causes a communicationapparatus to execute operations, the operations comprising detecting, bythe first RF repeater device 104, a change in a network condition in awireless network between the source node a source node and one or moredestination nodes, wherein the source node and one or more destinationnodes are serviced by a network of RF repeater devices configured in afirst topology; and based on the detected change in the networkcondition, controlling, by the first RF repeater device 102, one or moresecond RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices tore-configure the first topology of the network of RF repeater devices toa second topology, wherein the re-configuration of the first topology ofthe network of RF repeater devices to the second topology is executed atleast to continue to service the source node and the one or moredestination nodes in the wireless network in the changed networkcondition.

Various embodiments of the disclosure may a repeater system, forexample, the repeater system 102, 202, 1202, or 1302, in FIGS. 1A to 1C,2 to 16 . The repeater system includes the first RF repeater device(e.g. the first RF repeater device 104, or the RF repeater device 602,702, 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1204, 1206, 1304, 1306, 1404, 1406, 1502,1504, 1506, or 1702) arranged in a first topology of a network of RFrepeater devices and is configured to communicate with one or moresecond RF repeater devices (e.g. the second RF repeater device 106 orthe RF repeater device 602, 702, 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1204, 1206, 1304,1306, 1404, 1406, 1502, 1504, or 1506) in the network of RF repeaterdevices to service a source node (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502,504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the network node 1802, or Node A) and one or moredestination nodes (Node B/B′) in a wireless network. The first RFrepeater device 104 or 1702 may be further configured to: detect achange in a network condition in the wireless network between the sourcenode (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, thenetwork node 1802, or Node A) and the one or more destination nodes; andbased on the detected change in the network condition, control the oneor more second RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devicesto re-configure the first topology of the network of RF repeater devicesto a second topology, wherein the re-configuration of the first topologyof the network of RF repeater devices to the second topology is executedat least to continue to service the source node (e.g. the source node108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the network node 1802, or Node A)and the one or more destination nodes in the wireless network in thechanged network condition.

In accordance with an embodiment, wherein the change in the networkcondition in the wireless network is triggered by at least one of: ablockage of one or more communication links in the wireless network, amovement of the source node (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504,1208, 1308, 1408, the network node 1802, or Node A) or the one or moredestination nodes, a movement of one or more RF repeater devices thatare mobile in the network of RF repeater devices, a change in a numberof nodes in the wireless network to be serviced, or a change in a demandfor a throughput, a quality-of-service, or a quality-of-experience. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702is further configured to modify a form of connectivity between thesource node (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408,the network node 1802, or Node A) and the network of RF repeater devicesin the re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RFrepeater devices to the second topology. In accordance with anembodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 is furtherconfigured to change an allocation of the first RF repeater device 104or 1702 or the one or more second RF repeater devices to the one or moredestination nodes in the re-configuration of the first topology of thenetwork of RF repeater devices to the second topology. In accordancewith an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 is furtherconfigured to change an allocation of the first RF repeater device 104or 1702 or the one or more second RF repeater devices to the source node(e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the networknode 1802, or Node A) in the re-configuration of the first topology ofthe network of RF repeater devices to the second topology.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 is further configured to modify a number of beams allocated to oneor more of: the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702, the one or moresecond RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices, thesource node (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408,the network node 1802, or Node A) , or the one or more destination nodesin the re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RFrepeater devices to the second topology. In accordance with anembodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 is furtherconfigured to: establish a communicative coupling with a plurality ofsource nodes (e.g. the source node 502 and 504); and share one or morephased array antenna and beamforming resources available within thefirst RF repeater device 104 or 1702 concurrently with the plurality ofsource nodes (e.g. the source node 502 and 504).

In accordance with an embodiment, the control of the one or more secondRF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices is executedvia an in-band communication between the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 and the one or more second RF repeater devices. In accordance withan embodiment, the control of the one or more second RF repeater devicesin the network of RF repeater devices is executed via an out-of-bandcommunication between the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 and theone or more second RF repeater devices.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 is further configured to operate at different carrier frequency forincoming and outgoing waveforms. The first RF repeater device 104 or1702 comprises one or more first antenna arrays and one or more secondantenna arrays antennas, and wherein the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 has a first side facing substantially towards the source node (e.g.the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the network node1802, or Node A) and a second side that is opposite the first side andfaces substantially towards the one or more destination nodes, andwherein the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 is further configuredto receive and transmit waveforms on each of the first side and thesecond side via different antenna arrays of the first RF repeater device104 or 1702.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 further comprises one or more first antenna arrays and one or moresecond antenna arrays, and wherein the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 has a first side facing substantially towards the source node (e.g.the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the network node1802, or Node A) and a second side that is opposite the first side andfaces substantially towards the one or more destination nodes, andwherein the first RF repeater device 104 or 1702 is further configuredto receive and transmit waveforms on the first side via a same antennaarray of the one or more first antenna arrays. The first RF repeaterdevice 104 or 1702 is further configured to receive and transmitwaveforms on the second side via a same antenna array of the one or moresecond antenna arrays, wherein the transmit and receive time slots arenon-overlapping.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first RF repeater device 104 or1702 and the one or more second RF repeater devices in the network of RFrepeater devices in the second topology are configured to operate at afirst carrier frequency for inter-repeater signal propagation, andwherein the source node (e.g. the source node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208,1308, 1408, the network node 1802, or Node A) and the one or moredestination nodes are configured to operate at a second carrierfrequency. In accordance with an embodiment, the source node (e.g. thesource node 108, 208, 502, 504, 1208, 1308, 1408, the network node 1802,or Node A) is configured to operate at a first carrier frequency (f1)and the one or more destination nodes are configured to operate at asecond carrier frequency (f2), and wherein the first RF repeater device104 or 1702 is further configured to control the one or more second RFrepeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices to convert thefirst carrier frequency (f1) to the second carrier frequency (f2) toclose a communication link.

While various embodiments described in the present disclosure have beendescribed above, it should be understood that they have been presentedby way of example, and not limitation. It is to be understood thatvarious changes in form and detail can be made therein without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to using hardware(e.g., within or coupled to a central processing unit (“CPU”),microprocessor, micro controller, digital signal processor, processorcore, system on chip (“SOC”) or any other device), implementations mayalso be embodied in software (e.g. computer readable code, program code,and/or instructions disposed in any form, such as source, object ormachine language) disposed for example in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium configured to store the software. Such softwarecan enable, for example, the function, fabrication, modeling,simulation, description and/or testing of the apparatus and methodsdescribe herein. For example, this can be accomplished through the useof general program languages (e.g., C, C++), hardware descriptionlanguages (HDL) including Verilog HDL, VHDL, and so on, or otheravailable programs. Such software can be disposed in any knownnon-transitory computer-readable medium, such as semiconductor, magneticdisc, or optical disc (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.). The software canalso be disposed as computer data embodied in a non-transitorycomputer-readable transmission medium (e.g., solid state memory anyother non-transitory medium including digital, optical, analog-basedmedium, such as removable storage media). Embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include methods of providing the apparatus describedherein by providing software describing the apparatus and subsequentlytransmitting the software as a computer data signal over a communicationnetwork including the internet and intranets.

It is to be further understood that the system described herein may beincluded in a semiconductor intellectual property core, such as amicroprocessor core (e.g., embodied in HDL) and transformed to hardwarein the production of integrated circuits. Additionally, the systemdescribed herein may be embodied as a combination of hardware andsoftware. Thus, the present disclosure should not be limited by any ofthe above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A repeater system, comprising: a first RFrepeater device arranged in a first topology of a network of RF repeaterdevices, wherein the first RF repeater device is configured tocommunicate with one or more second RF repeater devices in the networkof RF repeater devices to service a source node and one or moredestination nodes in a first wireless network, wherein the first RFrepeater device is further configured to: detect a change in at leastone of: a network condition in the first wireless network, a networkconfiguration, or a traffic demand; and based on the detected change inthe network condition, the network configuration, or the traffic demand,control the first RF repeater device to be assigned to at least one ofthe first wireless network, a second wireless network, or be sharedbetween the first wireless network and the second wireless network,wherein the second wireless network is one of: fully overlapping thefirst wireless network, partially overlapping the first wirelessnetwork, or is an adjacent cell of the first wireless network.
 2. Therepeater system according to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeaterdevice is configured to deploy an intermediate frequency to frequencyshift an incoming waveform, and wherein the incoming waveform isdown-converted to the intermediate frequency, wherein the intermediatefrequency is a low IF frequency value.
 3. The repeater system accordingto claim 1, wherein the change in the network condition in the firstwireless network is triggered by at least one of: a blockage of one ormore communication links in the first wireless network, a movement ofthe source node or the one or more destination nodes, a movement of oneor more RF repeater devices that are mobile in the network of RFrepeater devices, a change in a number of nodes in the first wirelessnetwork to be serviced, or a change in a demand for a throughput, aquality-of-service, or a quality-of-experience.
 4. The repeater systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device is furtherconfigured to modify a form of connectivity between the source node andthe network of RF repeater devices for re-configuration of the firsttopology of the network of RF repeater devices to a second topology. 5.The repeater system according to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeaterdevice is further configured to change an allocation of the first RFrepeater device or the one or more second RF repeater devices to the oneor more destination nodes for re-configuration of the first topology ofthe network of RF repeater devices to a second topology.
 6. The repeatersystem according to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device isfurther configured to change an allocation of the first RF repeaterdevice or the one or more second RF repeater devices to the source nodefor re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RF repeaterdevices to a second topology.
 7. The repeater system according to claim1, wherein the first RF repeater device is further configured to modifya number of beams allocated to one or more of: the first RF repeaterdevice, the one or more second RF repeater devices in the network of RFrepeater devices, the source node, or the one or more destination nodesfor re-configuration of the first topology of the network of RF repeaterdevices to a second topology.
 8. The repeater system according to claim1, wherein the first RF repeater device is further configured to:establish a communicative coupling with the source node; and share oneor more phased array antenna and beamforming resources available withinthe first RF repeater device concurrently with the source node.
 9. Therepeater system according to claim 1, wherein the control of the one ormore second RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices isexecuted via an in-band communication between the first RF repeaterdevice and the one or more second RF repeater devices.
 10. The repeatersystem according to claim 1, wherein the control of the one or moresecond RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices isexecuted via an out-of-band communication between the first RF repeaterdevice and the one or more second RF repeater devices.
 11. The repeatersystem according to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device isfurther configured to operate at different carrier frequency for anincoming waveform and an outgoing waveform.
 12. The repeater systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device comprises oneor more first antenna arrays and one or more second antenna arraysantennas, and wherein the first RF repeater device has a first sidefacing substantially towards the source node and a second side that isopposite the first side and faces substantially towards the one or moredestination nodes, and wherein the first RF repeater device is furtherconfigured to receive and transmit waveforms on each of the first sideand the second side via different antenna arrays of the first RFrepeater device.
 13. The repeater system according to claim 1, whereinthe first RF repeater device further comprises one or more first antennaarrays and one or more second antenna arrays, and wherein the first RFrepeater device has a first side facing substantially towards the sourcenode and a second side that is opposite the first side and facessubstantially towards the one or more destination nodes, and wherein thefirst RF repeater device is further configured to receive and transmitwaveforms on the first side via a same antenna array of the one or morefirst antenna arrays, and wherein the first RF repeater device isfurther configured to receive and transmit waveforms on the second sidevia same antenna array of the one or more second antenna arrays, whereinthe receive and transmit waveforms are non-overlapping.
 14. The repeatersystem according to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device andthe one or more second RF repeater devices in the network of RF repeaterdevices in a second topology are configured to operate at a firstcarrier frequency for inter-repeater signal propagation, and wherein thesource node and the one or more destination nodes are configured tooperate at a second carrier frequency.
 15. The repeater system accordingto claim 1, wherein the source node is configured to operate at a firstcarrier frequency and the one or more destination nodes are configuredto operate at a second carrier frequency, and wherein the first RFrepeater device is further configured to control the one or more secondRF repeater devices in the network of RF repeater devices to convert thefirst carrier frequency to the second carrier frequency to close acommunication link.
 16. The repeater system according to claim 1,wherein the first RF repeater device is further configured to utilize anauxiliary beam to monitor surrounding environment by sensing forreflective power to indicate an amount of power reflected back towardsthe first RF repeater device.
 17. The repeater system according to claim1, wherein a control channel is present between the first RF repeaterdevice and a first destination node, and the control channel isdifferent than a communication link between the source node and the oneor more destination nodes.
 18. The repeater system according to claim 1,wherein the first RF repeater device is associated with a set of userequipment (UEs) that belong to a same family.
 19. The repeater systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the first RF repeater device furthercomprises a 5G NR digital modem to synchronize the first RF repeaterdevice and the one or more destination nodes with timingsynchronization.
 20. A method implemented in a repeater system, themethod comprising: detecting, by a first RF repeater device, a change inat least one of: a network condition in a first wireless network, anetwork configuration, or a traffic demand, wherein a source node andone or more destination nodes are serviced by a network of RF repeaterdevices configured in a first topology; and based on the detected changein the network condition, the network configuration, and/or the trafficdemand, controlling the first RF repeater device to be assigned to atleast one of the first wireless network, a second wireless network, orbe shared between the first wireless network and the second wirelessnetwork, wherein the second wireless network is at least one of fullyoverlapping the first wireless network, partially overlapping the firstwireless network, or adjacent cells of the first wireless network.